


Strong

by allskynostars



Category: Riverdale - Fandom
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Scattered fluff, Semi-Slow Burn, Sort of Serpent Cheryl, Tutor Betty, bughead - Freeform, bughead au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2018-12-13 00:27:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 50,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11748321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allskynostars/pseuds/allskynostars
Summary: Have you wondered for a whileI have a feeling deep down,You're caught in the middle.-Betty Cooper swore she only signed up to tutor a young girl from South Side High, and definitely not for what followed.And Jughead Jones didn't sign up for anything.-I might seem so strongYeah, I might speak so longI've never been so wrong.





	1. First Impresssions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! :)
> 
> I'm so happy to be here, writing another multi chapter fic for you lovely people. 
> 
> So, without further ado:
> 
> This is completely AU. No Jason murder, no events of S1. Jughead is a born and raised South-Sider, he knows no such thing as an Archie, Veronica or Betty. (Not for long!) He does know fellow South-Sider, Cheryl though ;) 
> 
> God, I'm so excited to write these characters. I really wanted to write JB, and Gladys also. You may have some questions after the first chapter, but hold on, they shall be answered. 
> 
> *DISCLAIMER* I know absolutely nothing of the American school system, so please just take it with a grain of salt as it is more than likely not accurate. I'm not American, hence 'Mum'. Although I've read so many fics with 'Mom' I almost slipped up a couple times! Ha. 
> 
> Also edited myself so sorry for any mistakes!! 
> 
> Title and lyrics for summary taken from Strong, by London Grammar.  
>  
> 
> Aaaaand I think that's all! Enjoy, buggies. ❤️

It was sunny out.

And Betty thought the temperature was high enough to warrant the black denim high waisted shorts she had changed into, paired with a simple white tank top she tucked in. As she turned herself in front of her bedroom mirror, she spared a thought to how her Mother would disapprove. _'Far too much skin, Elizabeth.'_ A smirk grew on her face. Well, she wasn't home from work in time to scorn her choice of clothing today. And in a last minute act of rebellion Betty didn't even grab a cardigan as she popped her feet into a pair of converse, tightened her ponytail, and left the house. 

Her phone started to buzz in her back pocket. She reached for it as she continued her journey to Pops. It was nearly August and the warmer weather was coming to an end. Which meant that Summer Break was also, and Betty had put her name forward for a "Big Sister" volunteer programme at a school on the other side of town, Southside High. She was hoping this is what the phone call was about. It was basically after school tutoring for any student who was put forward, Betty had done it last year with a different young girl and she was looking really looking forward to it again. Regardless of _'how good it looks on a college application'_ , in her Mothers words. 

Not that it mattered. Betty already had early acceptance to the Medill school of Journalism at Northwestern, starting in the Spring Semester. Chicago was far enough for Betty to gain some independence, but not far enough that she couldn't visit often. 

"Hello, Elizabeth Cooper speaking." She answered, always polite, always the full name if the number was unknown.

"Hi, Elizabeth? This is Gladys Jones. I'm ringing in regards to the Big Sister programme at South Side High. How are you?" The voice through the phone sounded maternal, and younger than Betty had expected. 

"This is she, but Betty is fine. I'm well, thank you Mrs Jones. I'm glad to be hearing from you." And she was, it was genuine. Betty loved to offer a hand to any student who wanted to better themselves. 

"Well, Betty, I'm glad to be calling. I was shown a few profiles from some of the volunteers, and yours stood out to me the most. You seem to have a wide range of curricular, extra and otherwise." Betty smiled on the other end of the phone, she did look awfully good on paper. "And I was hoping, if you haven't already been snatched up of course, that you would buddy up with my daughter." 

"I would love too, Mrs Jones, thank you for considering me." She smiled while checking the road to cross. 

"Of course.  Would you like to come over tomorrow and meet myself and JB? Say around 4pm? I will be home from work then" 

"Yes, definitely, I'll see you both then. I look forward too it." Betty replied. 

"As do I, Betty. I'll send you through our address, and I'll see you then. Thanks again." 

She couldn't wipe the smile from her face after the phone call had ended, and it still resided there as she walked through the front door at Pops, the ding of the bell alerting her arrival to her best friends. 

"There she is, my own personal ray of sunshine. I took the liberty of ordering your usual for you." Veronica nodded at the vanilla milkshake that was waiting for Betty as she slide into their usual booth opposite her and Archie. She smiled at Veronica in thanks. "And what, or who, has gotten into you to make you look so happy, huh?" 

"V, honestly." She joked, rolling her eyes. "I actually just got off the phone with the Mother of a Southside High student about the Big Sister programme. She wants to meet me tomorrow." She explained, taking a sip of her shake. 

"Oh that's cool, Betty." Archie chimed in, smiling across the booth at Betty. "I remember how much you enjoyed that last year." 

"Thanks, Arch." She returned his smile and gave a thought back to other things he probably didn't remember from last year. Or chose not too. Like her unrequited feelings of what she thought was love towards him, but turned out to just be a silly childish obsession gone on too long. As soon as she had seen Archie with Veronica, she was simply happy for the both of them. There was no jealousy, and Betty found relief in finally letting go of that Andrews fantasy. Besides, Veronica was such a permanent fixture in Bettys own day to day life now that she would not have it any other way. 

Even if that meant being the third wheel more often than not when there was no one else to act as a buffer. 

"Well, that's less risque than I was hoping. But, you are the true star of Riverdale after all, Betty Cooper. What will this town do without you?" Veronica was only half joking. "What will I do without you!" She reached across the table to take Betty's hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. 

"Chicago really isn't that far from NY, V. We will see each other all the time, I promise." Betty squeezed back in return. 

"Oh, I will make sure of it. Daddy's jet will be getting so much use it won't know what hit it." Archie sniggered at how pretentious she had sounded, and Betty couldn't help but join in. Veronica waved her hand in dismissal and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "Oh Archie, please, don't act as though you haven't been begging me to take you on your first flight." 

Now Betty was laughing in Archie's direction, the look on his face one of a boyfriend who just got shut down by his own, entitled girlfriend. The sound of their laughing was cut off by the ding of the bell above the door again, Archie watching the group who just walked in over Betty's shoulder. 

"Those Serpent wannabe kids do hang out here a lot lately." His eyes were trained on the leather jackets of the group as they made their way to the back corner booth. "I wish they would fuck off, they give me the creeps." Betty shot him a dirty look. 

"Jeez, Arch, louder for those in the back please." But the curiously had gotten the better of Betty as she glanced quickly over her shoulder into the back corner of the diner. It was the same group as always, 3 boys and the red headed girl. One of the boys, Betty had noticed, never seemed to be without his grey beanie, detailed to look like a crown. It stood out against the harsh of his leather jacket, and she wondered how the two fit together. 

"They might be scum but those jackets make them super hot, right Betty?" Veronica asked, watching the group with hungry eyes. 

"They aren't scum, V." Was all Betty would reply, she refused to admit that there was something about the leather that did make them seem more attractive. Unattainably  so. The attitude that seemed to come with the jacket probably helped the cause. They looked miserable, all the time, Betty thought as she looked back toward her friends. Especially the one with the beanie. She wondered if it was part of the act. 

"Say, Archiekins, do you think if I got you a leather jacket like that, you would swap it out for you letterman? Just for a night or two, just for me?" Veronica made eyes at her boyfriend, the way she held the straw in her mouth more than enough to imply exactly what she meant. 

"Only if you wear one to match, and nothing else." He winked. 

"Okay, guys, ew!" Betty pulled a face, covering her ears with her hands. This was the kind of thing that made her resent being a third wheel. She could handle watching them try and eat each other's faces off, but sex talk? No thanks. She didn't get paid enough for that. "There's a minor present." 

Archie threw his arm around Veronica's shoulder as they laughed, pulling her closer to him. "You'll get there, Betty." Archie joked. Betty just rolled her eyes at the both of them and quickly finished her milkshake. 

"Well, there won't be any leather jackets, that's for sure." She shimmied her way down the bench to exit the booth. "And on that note, I'm going home. I need to get some more reading done in advance for school, seeing as I'll have just less time when the new term starts up with this tutoring." 

"B, you just got here! You bore." Veronica sighed, her mouth shaped in an exaggerated pout. To anyone else it would seem condescending, but not to Betty. She knew Veronica well enough to know she always meant well.

"Bye guys, I'll text you later, V." She climbed from the booth and walked backward toward the door, waving at her friends. Just as she turned back she walked into something hard. And leather. It was the chest of one of the serpent group, one of the beanie less boys. "Shit, sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." She offered the boy a forgiving smile. He wasn't much taller than Betty, his jet black hair quiffed back from his face. 

"That's okay, darlin'." He looked her up and down, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. "I'll watch for you instead." 

"Oh Joaquin, please." The red head rolled her eyes, but was watching Betty with a look she couldn't quite grasp. Her lips were blood red, matching her hair, and her arms were crossed right across her chest. And even though she was shorter than Betty, the look she was giving made her feel small. "We all know she's not your type." 

Betty faked a laugh, but she could feel the colour creeping into her cheeks. And she figured you could see it, at least the rest of the group who were stood behind this guy definitely could. She gave him another smile before getting out of there as fast as she could without running. She could feel all their eyes burning into the back of her head. 

 

**

 

It was 3.30 the next afternoon, and Betty was yet again stood in front of her bedroom mirror. But this time she was dressed just how her mother approves. Dark blue jeans, and a pastel pink sweater with a white collar. 

"Elizabeth, downstairs quickly! You don't want to be late. Punctuation is key!" Betty rolled her eyes at her Mother, but did as she was told. With one more tight tug of her pony, she slipped her feet into a pair of black ballet flats and hurried down the stairs. Alice Cooper, her overbearing, ever concerned, painfully punctual Mother was already waiting for her at the front door. She was tapping her foot, and giving Betty a look that she was all too familiar with. 

"Sorry, Mum." she murmured as she slipped past her out the front door, avoiding her gaze. As she walked to the car, she could hear her Mother muttering as she followed. 

"It's not just you that would look bad, Elizabeth. It would also fall back on us, your parents." Her tone was condescending, and Betty was all too familiar with the words that fell from her Mothers tongue. "Would you want to disappoint us like that? Like your sister?" Betty could feel her fingers curling into her palm, her nails itching to break skin. She shook it off, stretching her fingers before opening the door and climbing into the car. 

"Mum, it only takes 15 minutes to drive to South Side. We have plenty of time." Betty crossed her arms over her chest, purposely looking straight ahead to stare at the garage door. Alice sighed as she sat in the drivers seat, angling her body to face Betty and tilting her head in concern. 

"Are you taking your medication, Elizabeth?" There was that tone again, always with that tone. If she actually paid any attention at all to her daughter, she may have noticed that Betty hadn't been taking any of her medication in weeks. Months, for that matter. Betty would hold the pills under her tongue until she had opportune moment to spit them out again.  With everything that had happened with Polly, both of her parents had been rather distant lately. But that didn't mean Betty wasn't still nagged at every minute they were around. She continued to ignore  Alice, averting her eyes to stare out at the front garden through the car window. "Answer me, Elizabeth."  

"Yes, Mother." Betty finally answered through gritted teeth. "Twice a day every day." She heard her Mum sigh beside her. 

"We just want the best for you, sweetie. We want you to be your best." She was being genuine, but that didn't make it any easier for Betty to swallow. It was never about what she wanted. It was just about how good she could make her parents look. Alice reached out her hand to rest on the side of Betty's arm, an attempt at being sincere. Betty turned to her Mother, a fake smile plastered on her mouth. 

"Thanks, Mum. But we need to leave." She nodded to the clock on the dashboard that now showed the time as 3.35pm. "Punctuation is key!" She mocked. Now it was Alice's turn to roll her eyes as she turned in her seat and started the engine. They were backed out of the drive and on their way before Alice spoke again. 

"Look, Betty. I know sometimes we are hard on you. But, but after Polly, can you blame us?" _Can you blame her?_ Betty thought. No wonder she threw it all in and ran half way across the world. Polly had needed her freedom, she wanted to make her own life decisions, and Betty was starting to understand that more every day. "We gave your sister everything. She had every option she could have wanted, and yet she threw it all back on our faces." Alice's voice had started to falter, and Betty knew talking about Polly made her upset. 

"Mum, I'm not Polly.  Please don't get upset." She glanced in her Mothers direction. "I'm just nervous, okay?" Which wasn't a complete lie. She needed to make a good impression today, although that wasn't an entirely new concept. She had been taught that first impressions were everything. Alice looked at Betty in her peripheral and offered a light smile that didn't touch her eyes. 

"You'll do great, Betty. You always do. Just remember, chin up. Don't slack." Betty unfolded her arms in favour of wringing her hands together. They had driven over the rail bridge that separated the North and South sides of Riverdale, which meant they would be arriving to the Jones' shortly. Betty could feel her hands slick with sweat, but she tried to push away her anxious thoughts. She had done this before, and as long as the girl wasn't a complete nightmare she knew she could handle it. Betty thrived off of helping others. 

"It's this next left, Mum." Betty directed Alice down the right street, eyes squinting to read the numbers on the letterboxes. "It's number 44 so it's on my side."  The neighbourhood was nice, it looked as though the street could blend in just fine on the other side of the tracks. 

"These houses are much tidier than where I dropped you last year. Thank god." Alice Cooper, the queen of laying judgment. She pulled into the driveway once they had reached the right house. Alice turned to Betty in her seat once again, reaching out her hand to dust off Betty's shoulder. "Now, do well. And call me when you need me or your Father to pick you up."

"I could get the bus, Mum. It's just down the road an -"

"God, no. I don't want you walking around here on your own. If anything comes up, I'll ask Archie to get you." Alice smiled a small smile at her daughter. 

"Okay, thanks Mum. I'll call you later." Betty offered a smile in return , opened the car door and climbed out. She knew her Mother would wait until she was in the front door before she left, so Betty took in the house quickly as she walked to the door. It was lovely, and looked well kept. There was a red Mazda CX3 in the drive, which was a sight in itself. Obviously this family had money. Betty took a deep breath before raising her fist and knocking on the door. 

The woman who answered the door was younger than Betty was expecting, yet again. Or maybe she just looked that way. Gladys Jones was of a similar height to Betty, her black hair fell just below her shoulders. Her blue eyes were striking. 

"Betty? Hi, please, come in." Gladys pulled the door open wide, holding her arm out to welcome her in. Betty stepped foot through the front door into the kitchen, which was open plan with the living room. Everything was white and bright, and there was a young girl sat at the island in the kitchen. The girl, with hair longer than her Mothers but the same exact colour, smiled a dazzling smile at Betty. 

"This is JB, and I'm Gladys." The older woman said, moving around to stand behind her daughter, her hands grasping the girls shoulders. "Welcome. Can I get you a drink of something?" 

"A water would be lovely, thanks." Betty moved around the island and perched on the stool next to JB. She smiled down at the young girl, and she noticed that her eyes were the same deep sea blue as her Mothers. She smiled a thanks at Gladys as she put the glass in front of Betty. "Hi, JB. I'm Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Betty. Is JB a nickname?" The girl offered Betty a shy smile. She must be around 13, Betty thought. 

"It stands for Jellybean." She answered, ducking her head a little. Betty looked up at Gladys, who just shrugged her shoulders and laughed. "Which is still a nickname, anyway."

"Her Dad fought a hard case, and she won't tell you her real one unless she trusts you with her life." Gladys smiled, and Betty noticed the lines at the corner of her eyes. She was beautiful, but she looked tired. And not tired like she didn't have enough sleep the night before, but more like she had been exhausted for a long time. Betty commended herself on how she could read people. "Well, I'm going to go and sort out some washing, how about you two get to know each other some more." She placed a light kiss to the top of JB's hair as she walked passed them, leaving the kitchen into the laundry room attached. 

"You know," Betty nudged JB's shoulder with her own, "I'm going to make it my goal to get your real name out of you. I'll prove you can trust me, JB." She offered the young girl a warm smile, that was returned ten fold. "So, tell me, whats your favourite subject in school?" 

"Science." Jellybeans face lit up, and then it was hard for Betty to get a word in. Not that she minded. She told her all about her school, her friends, how her 14th birthday was coming up and she didn't know if she was allowed to invite boys to her house just yet but one of her best friends was a boy. She told her how her teachers always compared her to her brother and she hated it. 

"Your brother?" Betty asked, her interest peaked. She had gotten the impression that it was just JB and Gladys, but then again, this house was awfully big for just the two of them. Betty was trying to pick up as much information she could without directly asking, rather waiting for JB to when she felt comfortable.  "Does he go to school with you?"

"He's in senior year, same as you I think?" Betty nodded at her. "He's a shit head in school, and all the teachers think I'll be a chip off the old block." 

"Oh, well that's not fair." Betty was taken a back a little by how easy JB had sworn, but she had to remind herself that just because she still couldn't say the word crap in her parents house without some alarm going off didn't mean it was the same for everyone else. Jellybean just shrugged.

"It's okay, he's not a shit head to me." She smiled, spinning herself side to side on her stool. "He's my big brother, he's the best." Betty felt warmth in her chest, the way that JB felt towards her brother was the same that she felt with Polly. 

"That's nice, JB."  
   
"Him and Mum don't get along that well, but.." Jellybean trailed off, catching herself before she spilled all their Jones family secrets to this girl she has just met. Sure, Betty was nice and seemed understanding, but JB liked her and didn't want to scare her away. This house was a good facade for how much they were a South Side family, through and through. 

"I know what thats like." Betty nudged her shoulder, realising that JB didn't want to carry on with that sentance just yet. "My Sister and Parents definitely do not see eye to eye." Jellybean gave Betty a small smile in gratitude, and was about to ask about her sister when she heard the distinct rumbling of a motorbike coming into the street. 

"Speak of the devil." Jellybean joked. Betty turned her head toward the window, watching a dark figure park up in the driveway on a motorbike. 

"What's your brothers name, dare I ask?" Was all Betty had time to ask before he made his way through the front door. 

"Jughead." Jellybean answered Betty, and announced his arrive at the same time. As the boy took off his helmet, Betty was shocked to realise it was the beanie wearing serpent from Pops. As if in time with her thoughts, Jughead reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled the hat onto his head. He walked behind Betty to Jellybean, ruffling her hair on his way to the fridge. 

"Hey, Kid. Where's Mum?" He asked, not really taking any notice of Betty. She couldn't help but feel slightly flustered, especially considering how much she had floundered after the interaction she had with him and the rest of his gang yesterday. 

"Doing laundry, you're safe." She joked, smiling at her brother. 

"Good." He opened the milk and drank straight from the carton, something Betty found kind of gross. He raised his eyes brows in her direction, a question to his sister. 

"Oh, this is Betty. She's my tutor for the new term, for after school." Jellybean turned to look at Betty sat beside her. "This is Jughead." Betty smiled at him. 

"Another nickname, I'm presuming?" God, why did she ask that. Like it was any of her business. She could feel the flush rising in her cheeks. Jughead just gave her a sly smile while he screwed the lid back on the milk. This was the most she had gotten to look at him properly, not just from the far corner of the diner. He was good looking, that she wouldn't deny. He had a sharp jaw, and those blue eyes that seemed to be a Jones trait. She also couldn't help but notice his hands, the way they grasped the bottle. 

"It's far better than the alternative, trust me." He shut the fridge door, making to pick up his helmet on his way to the hall that on the opposite side of the kitchen. "I've seen you around, at Pops." Betty was slightly shocked, she didn't really think she was someone Jughead would notice. His eyes were trained on her now, and she suddenly hated the fact that she blushes so easily. 

"Yeah, I'm there a lot with my friends." She smiled at him, indifferent, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt. 

"That's it, you're always third wheeling with that ginger kid and his rich girlfriend, right?" He snarked, a smirk on his face. Betty dropped her smile, his comment kind of pissed her off. She knew she was a third wheel, she didn't need others pointing it out for her. 

"Didn't realise I was that obvious." She shot back, a sharp tone to her voice.

"Sometimes, to me." He still had a smirk on his face, and Betty couldn't help but find herself enjoying his face. Her heart was beating a little faster, had he really noticed her? He looked her up and down before he spoke again. "When you've got those legs out." He winked, before turning around and walking into the hall. 

"Jug! Can you not!" Jellybean called out to her brother, shaking her head in shame. She shot an apologetic look to Betty. "Sorry, told you he was a shit head." 

"It's okay." Betty laughed. And as much as she probably wouldn't admit it, she had kind of enjoyed those comments. It usually wasn't her who got hit on, that normally fell to Veronica. But she kind of liked it. Or maybe she just liked the way he looked at her. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. Jughead was just a boy, this is just what they do. They liked to play games. Wasn't it similar to what happened at Pops yesterday? She reminded herself. "Where were we?" 

Betty had stayed for a little longer, Gladys came back and the three of them sat and talked. She turned down the invitation of dinner, claiming that her Mother would have already accounted for her, although in reality she wanted to avoid another run in with Jughead. 

Later that night while she was trying to sleep, she convinced herself that he was just trying to irk her. The annoying thing being that it was working. He was in a gang after all, it was probably a territorial thing. She wouldn't let some tiny little run in get to her, she was Betty Cooper after all.

 

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think with a comment guys, especially seeing as this is the first chapter and I'm nervous af haha. Love you all x


	2. Dealings & Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first, I CANNOT believe the reception to the first chapter :)  
> THANK YOU SO MUCH! Love you all.
> 
> So here is chapter 2, I think I'm going to jump between Betty & Jughead for POV each chapter.  
> Let me know if you like that idea guys.
> 
> As always, edited myself so excuse mistakes!!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> *

“Half an ounce, yeah?” It was a sunny but mild midday on a Saturday. Jughead was parked up at the edge of Sweetwater river, leaning against his bike, dealing weed to some kids from Cambridge, the town over. Apart from working odd bar shifts at the Whyte Wyrm, this was the only gang duty he bothered to participate with. He wasn’t stupid enough to get involved with all the other illegal dealings that went on. He just needed to save up some extra cash so he could get the hell out of Riverdale. The Serpents knew that, they were good to him.

And with being FP Jones’ son, the jacket just kind of came with the territory. He didn’t need to work all that much for it, and it suited him entirely.

He took the money from one of the kids, and handed them the bag. He could tell by looking at them that this wasn’t something they had done before. The boy looked younger than him, Jughead thought to himself. He cursed whoever it was that agreed to sell to minors. When he made no move to put it away, instead just sort of fumbled with it in his hands, Jughead gave him a stern look.

“Jesus, kid. Don’t go flashing it around everywhere, alright?” He put on his best threatening tone and stood up straight, standing closer to the boy. “And don’t go telling everyone where you got it from. If it gets back to us that you’ve been running your mouth, you’ll swallow that tongue.”  
They all just nodded, then quickly scrambled back to their push bikes. As Jughead watched them ride away, he hoped he had put enough fear into them to not see them again. He hated dealing this shit, even if he did smoke it himself occasionally. When you had a family like his, sometimes it helped to zone out for a while.

“Okay, Tony Soprano. Have you filled your tough guy quota for the day?” Cheryl’s voice snapped him out of this thoughts, he turned to look at her. Joaquin was Jugheads partner of choice for dealings like this, but lately he had been delving more into the serious side of the gang, which meant that Cheryl had started to tag along more often.

She was untouchable, the sacred princess, the one and only daughter of Clifford Blossom. The head of the royal Blossom family of the South Side. The big boss. The one who sat upon his throne and called the shots without getting his hands dirty. Nobody could tell her what to do, or more what _not_ to do. She was similar to him in the sense that she had no gang initiation, her jacket was a birthright. And with her banished twin brother opting to not get involved in the family business, Clifford didn’t object to her involvement. No that Cheryl would listen if he did. It didn’t necessarily mean that he enjoyed his little girl being part of the dealings, but he needed someone to take over the Blossom empire if his son would not.

Cheryl missed her brother Jason, he knew that. And sometimes he thought she clung to him as a stand in.

Jughead had basically grown up with Cheryl, and for as much as he loved her like a cousin, that did not mean he had to like her all the time.

“Lets go to Pops, I’m fucking starving.” He said over his shoulder before putting his helmet over his head, ignoring her snide remark. They rode together to the diner, parking up out the front. He felt eyes on him as they walked through the door, the fucking bell always announcing their arrival. Nobody saw him, they just saw the snake on the back of his jacket and made their own assumptions. He was used to it, and he preferred it that way, sometimes. He just kept his eyes forward. Always ahead of him.

He slid in to their usual booth in the far corner of the diner, then pulled his phone out to text Frankie that the deal was done, he would drop the money of tonight. Cheryl slipped into the booth after ordering their food, opposite Jughead.

“God, could they be anymore obvious. I don’t know how they could even be slightly attracted to that self loathing stench that follows you around.” Cheryl was only half joking, nodding to a couple of girls who were on the stools at the counter when she had his attention. They were cute, he supposed. He gave them a wink, which caused an outburst of shy giggles from the girls, loud enough to grab the attention of other people in the diner.

Jughead noticed the blonde ponytail turn in his direction, from a booth on the opposite side of the diner. And then her eyes were on him, big and green. He hadn’t seen Betty when he walked in, he hadn’t seen anyone. He held her gaze for a moment before she smiled, raising her hand to wave shyly at him. He didn’t wave back, he just tilted his head slightly, smirking back at her. He noticed the flash of red on her cheeks, something he had been the cause of a lot in the last 3 weeks she had been around, he thought. Betty dropped her hand quickly before turning back to her dark haired friend in the booth. The rich one. Veronica, he was pretty sure that is what he heard Betty tell JB when he had been pretending not to listen to their conversations from the hall.  
He only did it to make sure Jellybean was in good company, it’s not like he was interested in anything about Betty. She was far too girl next door for his liking anyway. At least, that was what he had been trying to convince himself the past few weeks. He did love to make her blush, though.

“Um, did I just catch Betty Cooper, Riverdales prized possession, waving at you?” Cheryl turned back to shoot him a surprised look, her brows raised in question. He hadn’t noticed she was watching their interaction. He just shrugged.

“She’s tutoring Jelly, that big sister programme they have at school. She’s around at home a lot, I guess she thinks we’re on waving terms or some shit.”

“Ugh,” Cheryl cringed, shaking her head, “Thank god Daddy let me be home schooled instead of going to Riverdale High. I couldn’t imagine having to rub shoulders with those prudes.” Jughead let out a loud laugh.

“Says the snob who was too good for South Side High.” He smiled a thanks at the waitress who had brought their food and shakes.

“What can I say, some of us are just destined for bigger things, Jughead Jones.” She gave him an entitled smile, but her eyes gave away the joke in her words. “Just like how you are destined to have every girl fall at your feet, and yet somehow not care.”

“Except you.” Jughead winked, taking a bite from his burger. Cheryl shook her fork full of salad at him.

“Indeed. As I said, Jug, destined for _bigger_ things.” She wiggled her brows at him, raking her eyes down his frame. He just laughed and threw a fry at her. “Any news on that scholarship?”

Cheryl was the only person Jughead had told about it. Hell, she was the only person he had told about his plans for University at all. And for all her belittling and degrading qualities, Cheryl had just simply understood. She knew all of his history, and was not surprised at all that he wanted to leave. Maybe she was taken aback by the fact that Jughead was actually going to have some sort of tertiary education. He had always made out like he didn’t care for school.

And he didn’t. But that didn’t mean his grades should suffer. He had always been told his writing and English work was phenomenal, and he kept up enough in other classes that he had done well enough to apply for a scholarship at Washington College. They had scholarships specifically for creative writing.

“No word yet.” He could get away far away, put all his energy into school, and hopefully write away all his issues. It’s what he was good at. He could never get the words to come out of his mouth right, but when he was writing them down they came easily. Cheryl nodded, not pressing any further. She could sense his reluctance to talk about it.

So she changed the subject, and they sat and ate for a while, talking about the party that Cheryl was throwing in a few weeks. There was nothing Jughead hated more than being in a house full of drunk, rowdy teenagers. But he would go anyway, just to get out of the house. He was so lost in the conversation they were having he didn’t notice one of the girls from earlier was waling up towards their table, a piece of paper in her hands.

“Um, hey..” She interrupted. Jughead looked up at her in surprise, the corner of his mouth turning up into a smile. Cheryl looked up at her as she took a sip from her milkshake.

“Ah, one for the masses.” She muttered under her breath, shooting a knowing smile towards Jughead. He ignored her.  
“Hey.” Was all he said back to the girl. A man of few words, unless they were written.

“Um, my names Ethel. I ah, here’s my number. Maybe we could hang out some time?” She asked shyly.

“Sure, why not?” His eyes were diverted from the girl in front of him as he reached for the paper she was handing him, no doubt her number was scribbled on the inside. Betty was walking out of the diner, her eyes flicked in his direction just in time to see him take the paper from Ethel. He could have sworn she walked a little faster after that.

‘I’m sure he’ll put you right on top.“ Cheryl joked, a sickly sweet smile on her face definitely implicating that she had meant that innuendo. Ethel quickly looked between the two of them, smiled shyly and went back to sit with her friend. Cheryl looked back at Jughead then. "Ballsy, I’ll give her that. How did she know that I wasn’t your girlfriend?”

“Must be the look of disgust that paints your face whenever you look at me.” He joked, wiping his hands in a napkin and throwing it onto his empty plate. He downed the rest of his shake before shuffling to the end of the bench seat. “See you at the Wyrm later?” Cheryl just nodded in response.

Jughead shot one last smile at Ethel before leaving the diner. He pulled out the piece of paper with her number on it, screwed it up and threw it in one of the outside bins. Of all the numbers he’d been given, he’d never called any of them. He knew he should probably just let them down easy, but he couldn’t bring himself to embarrass anyone like that. He knew what he needed to do with himself, he had his sights set to leave, and he wouldn’t even risk the idea of involving someone in his life like that. He didn’t need any distraction.

He climbed onto his bike and rode home.

-

Nobody was there when he got back, so Jughead jumped in the shower. It wasn’t unusual for the house to be empty on a Saturday. Gladys had Jellybean involved in all kinds of things even outside of school. Today was probably a game of some sort, and as much as Jughead loved to watch and support everything JB did, but he couldn’t stand next to his Mother for a long amount of time without going insane. She always pushed JB, and sometimes Jughead felt it was too far. She was only 13 for god sake, but he knew how much his Mother loved to project what she had wanted to be onto Jellybean. It made him feel guilty, a lot probably stemmed from how much he had let her down, getting pregnant with him so young ruined so many of her plans.

But she had let him down too. He remembered. Gladys might try and act as though it never happened, but Jughead won’t ever forget. And he knows that whenever she looks at Jughead, she’s reminded of the part of her life she tries to forget. Her failed marriage. Her convict ex husband. Her own substance abuse problems. Whenever Gladys looks at Jughead, she sees his Father. And there’s a part of Jughead that truly believe she hates him for it.

That daily reminder that everything hasn’t always been white picket fences.

He allowed himself to think of FP, to think of his Dad in that jail cell. He visits twice a year, once at Christmas and once on FPs birthday. He doesn’t ever tell Gladys, but he thinks she knows. He’s certain she will never understand. But that is his Dad, and unlike her, he’s never tried to be anyone he wasn’t, he has never tried to forget what it is he’s done in his life. Just to accept it and move on. There’s no mask on him.

Jughead turned the shower dial to cold, trying to cut the thoughts from his mind.

He climbed out from the shower, running the towel over his hair and his face before wrapping it loosely around his waist. He made his way into the kitchen, opening the fridge to grab a bottle of water. He hadn’t heard the car pull up, lost in his own thoughts, so he got the fright of his life when the front door suddenly burst open, Jellybean following through it in her soccer gear.

“Jughead!’ She screamed, covering her eyes with her hands. He started to laugh but it was cut short as suddenly Betty was in the door way. Her eyes widened, and he saw that all too familiar blush adorn her cheeks, but she made no comment. Just continued to make her way into the house, helping with the groceries.

"Okay, girls. I’ll make some lunch and then we can do some party plann-” And then Gladys was in the kitchen, shaking her head at her son. “For god sake, why are you not dressed?” Jughead shrugged, grinning at his audience.

“I just had a shower, nobody was home.” He started to walk backward, making to leave the kitchen.

“We have a guest!” Gladys exclaimed, turning to look at Betty. “I’m so sorry, Betty.” Jugheads eyes averted to Betty then, giving her a small smile.

“I’m sure she doesn’t mind, right, Cooper?” He joked, enjoying the tilt of her head in confusion at the use of her surname.

“Forsy-” Gladys started, but was cut short by the look that Jughead shot her. The anger was immediate and obvious behind his eyes. He didn’t care if they had an audience. It probably didn’t help that he had wound himself up thinking about his Dad in the shower.

“Don’t fucking call me that.” He could see from the corner of his eye the way Bettys face dropped, trying to look anywhere but at them. “Don’t.”

“It’s your name, for god sake. It’s on your birth certificate, your drivers license. You live under my roof. I gave birth to you, I’ll call you whatever I want.” She was standing with her arms crossed, giving Jughead a stern look. He just shook his head lightly, biting his tongue. He wanted to scream at her, tell her that it didn’t count for shit. Giving birth does not make you a Mother, not in his eyes. Not his Mother. But instead he just rolled his eyes, and turned to storm through the door into the hall.

Just as he turned to head up the stairs to his bedroom, he saw Betty walk into the hall behind him. He stopped short to look at her. Jughead had noticed the fact that Betty had made an effort to hide her legs ever since he made that comment, much to his own regret. She did have great legs, it was something he had noticed before he ever knew who she was. Along with the way she used to look at that red headed boy before Veronica showed up.

But much to his enjoyment, today she was wearing a light blue dress, it was tight around her waist but flowed delicately down her legs, stopping just above her knee. The straps on her shoulders were thin and lonesome. He couldn’t stop his mind wondering to what that implied.

He raised his brow as if to ask where she was going. She just nodded to the downstairs bathroom, her hand on the handle as Jughead asked.

“Why are you here on a Saturday? Don’t you get a day off?” She turned in the doorway, smiling up at him sweetly.

“JB asked me to help plan her birthday party next weekend.” She just shrugged, and then Jughead understood Cheryls surprise from earlier at the diner. This girl was sweet, almost too much so. In regards to him anyway. Here she was, taking time out of her own weekend to help his Sister just because she asked.

“No boys. Right?” He said sternly, only half joking. But not actually joking at all. Betty raised her hand to her head, giving him a mock salute. “Sorry about the ah, towel, by the way.” He gestured to his midriff. She just shrugged again, but he saw her eyes take him in from head to foot.

“It’s okay, it’s your home. You know, I was going to mention that I would be around, when I saw you at Pops earlier. But you kind of ignored me.” She was leaning in the door way now, smirking up at him like he had done to her that same day. Playing him at his own game. “And here we are.” She held his gaze. “She was cute, by the way. That girl.”

“I’m not going to call her.” He blurted out before he could catch himself. Why did he tell her that? Why was it him who was blushing now? Betty didn’t comment, just continued to smirk at him as she walked into the bathroom. Her head peered around the door just before she closed it.

“Oh, Jughead?” He hadn’t moved to head up the stairs yet, for some strange reason he didn’t really want too. He watched her face as she took her bottom lip between her teeth. “Nice legs.”

He stood there, on the bottom step, for a moment after she had closed the bathroom door. He had forgotten how mad he just been a few moments ago. The fluttering in his chest was telling him he might be in trouble here.

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :) Leave me a comment letting me know what you think!


	3. Birthday Blues

It was the Friday night before Jellybeans birthday party, and Betty was sitting with her at the dining table, trying to turn the young girls attention back to her English work. To no avail. 

"Do you think I'm too old to wear my hair in like, pigtails? Or maybe dutch braids?" JB was slumped back in her chair, her head thrown back as she watched the ceiling. The first dilemma was what she was going to wear, and once that had been settled she moved onto her hair. The pencil between her fingers was tapping against the table. Betty took in a deep sigh, closed the copy of Of Mice and Men that JB was supposed to be writing a chapter summary on and pushed it away. There was only so many times one could try to get JB's attention back before it was lost completely. Betty was aware she had lost. 

"How about," Betty turned to face JB in her seat, "I come a bit earlier tomorrow, and dutch braid your hair for you?" Betty smiled as JB straightened up in her own chair. 

"Oh, Betty, are you sure? I would love that." Jellybeans face broke out into a grin, showing nearly all her teeth, and with her eyes sparkling like that how could Betty say no. 

"Of course. I can give your Mum a hand with the set up as well. I do love a good party prep." She nudged Jellybean in the side with her elbow. "But, only if you finish this chapter summary." 

"Deal." Jellybean was smirking now, and in that moment the resemblance between her and Jughead was unfathomable, Betty was almost breathless. JB pulled her exersize book back towards her and started to read over her notes for what may have been the 4th time that afternoon. Betty picked up the copy of Of Mice and Men, flicking back through the pages to find the specific chapter Jellybean was writing about. Once she found the first page of the chapter, Betty pressed lightly on the spine to flatten it out. 

"Ouch, please, no book defacing under my roof Coop." Betty rolled her eyes before she even raised her head too look at him, leaning in the doorway from the hall, arms folded. He was a vision in all black, wearing that leather jacket like a cloak, beanie like a crown. Betty had only seen him without the beanie once, last week when he had been dressed in just a white towel. In stark contrast to the boy who was in the doorway now. She hadn't realised he was home. 

And now thinking about how low that towel had sat on his hips was making Betty blush. 

"No permanent damage, see?" She let the book go, watching it close with no issue. She shot him a sickly sweet smile. He just shook his head at her lightly, that damn smirk on his face. Even though it had been over a month since Betty had been coming here after school to tutor Jellybean, she still hadn't quite figured out Jughead Jones. He wasn't around an awful lot to begin with, although lately it seemed as though he was home more often. And apparently they knew each other well enough to be on a nickname basis. 

His eyes were still trained on Betty, even as he pushed himself from the doorway to walk behind the two girls. He reached a hand out to ruffle Jellybeans hair, which resulted in some squirming from her seat. 

"If you don't mind, Jones. JB is trying to finish this chapter summary." Betty snared, turning her head to glance up to where he stood behind them. And then, before even she even realised what was happening, Jugheads hand was out towards her and he was ruffling _her_ hair. Jellybean erupted into giggles. "Hey!" Betty swatted his hands away, but she couldn't help but start to laugh herself at the sight of JB. Her hair was a mess, cheeks red, and her head thrown back in a giggle fit. 

And strangely enough, when Jughead took his hand back, she realised how warm she had felt when he touched her. Even if it was just her hair. She caught his gaze again, enjoying how his mouth was curved slightly in the corners. His eyes averted to Jellybeans open exercise book.

"That quote is wrong, JB. It's 'A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody', not 'ain't got somebody.'" His eyes lazily trailed back to Bettys. "You're slacking, Coop." He teased. And there was that damn smirk again. Betty could feel her cheeks reddening. 

"Piss off, know all." Jellybean jested, poking him in the side. She picked up her pencil and began rubbing out the misquote. "Don't you have somewhere better to be?" 

"I do have somewhere to be, little Sister." Jughead remarked, before heading towards the front door, taking his keys from the hook. "But I don't know if it's better." He added, winking towards Betty. She quickly dropped his gaze in order not to burst into flames at the dining table. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jellybean pick up a spare pencil from the table and fling it at Jughead. 

"Go away, you're gross." She yelled at him as he closed the door, his laughter still booming through the wood. Jellybean didn't look up from writing in her school book before she spoke. "I think he quite likes you, you know." Betty was surprised at the comment, and equally as grateful that Jellybean wasn't looking at her right now. She could feel the heat in her cheeks, could hear her heart beating in her chest. Somehow she managed to compose herself in time to answer.

"He's like that with all the girls, JB. I have seen it." She assured herself, trying to shake the very thought of Jughead liking her from her mind. Betty wasn't sure how he had such an affect on her, but she put it down to the fact that he knew what he was doing and that she was a fool. 

"Well, I haven't." Jellybean shrugged. Betty watched her face, it didn't falter. She wanted to pry a bit further, but knew she shouldn't. 

"What, he's never had a girl here before?" But her tongue got the better of her. Jellybean just shook her head. 

"Nope." Her mouth popped the 'p'. "Never had a girlfriend." 

"Huh." Betty was slightly shocked for two reasons. One being that she has seen it first hand at Pops plenty, girls fawn all over him. It seemed a lot of girls like that self-deprecation vibe he's got going on. Although, when she thought about it, he never really tried with any of them. Not that she had seen. 

And reason two being the warmth of excitement she felt rising in her chest. Of which didn't cool, not even when Gladys came home moaning about the length of her day, or when Archie came and picked her up to take to her to Veronicas for the night.

 

Only did it fade when she chose to bring it up with her friends.

"You know, I spoke to my Dad about them. He said he used to work with that kids Dad, a long time ago. Before he got himself locked up." Betty's head snapped up. She was perched on the chair at Veronicas vanity, facing the couple spread across the bed. Veronica mindlessly filed her nails while Archie tossed a football in the air, catching it every time. 

"What?" She hadn't know about their Father being in jail. "Do you know why?" Archie just shrugged.

"Nope. But he was in the Serpents too, what more could you expect?" He said it with such conviction, Betty couldn't help but be annoyed. Archie knew nothing of who he was speaking about, how could he judge. 

"They aren't all bad, you know." Betty muttered. 

"Oh, please." Veronica sat up, rolling her eyes at Betty in the process. "Being a tad biased, are we not, my dearest Elizabeth?" Betty gave Veronica a puzzled look. "Just because you've got an eye for the Serpent prodigy, right? Your my best friend, I notice things" 

"Wh-what?" Betty stammered, not realising she had been quite so obvious. Veronica smirked at her, knowing she had been caught. She sunk back against the headboard smugly.  
"I've seen you at Pops, looking at him like he was the cherry on top of your very vanilla milkshake." Veronica shrugged, her attention focused once again on her nail file. "Can't say I blame you, he's definitely easy on the eye."

"Hey!" Archies head flicked towards Veronica, dropping his attention from the football long enough for it to fall back down into his gut. Betty stifled a laugh as Veronica lent over and kissed Archie lightly on the mouth. 

"Don't worry, Archiekins. You're more than enough to keep me occupied." Now it was Bettys turn to roll her eyes. Once his girlfriend pulled back away, Archies eyes fell to Betty. 

"Just, be careful Betty. Okay?" She appreciated his concern, but it was misplaced. Yeah, she acknowledged that Jughead was gorgoeus. But it's not like it would ever happen. 

"Guys, please. I just tutor his sister, that's it. We're civil." She shrugged, and she was very thankful that her friends didn't approach the subject for the rest of the night. 

 

-//-

 

Jellybean was squirming in her seat, struggling to stay still while Betty finished the braids in her hair. She was so excited. 

"Oh, god.." Jb sighed as she brought her hands up to her face. "I hope Jug doesn't embarrass me." Betty let out a light laugh as she tied the last band around the end of the braid. She braced her hands on JB's shoulders and caught her gaze in the mirror in front of them. 

"I'm sure he'll behave." Betty thought about it for a moment before adding. "At least for today." That earned a warm smile from JB.

"Thank you so much for doing my hair, it looks so nice Betty." She rose form the chair and took Betty in a tight hug. "You're the best." Betty squeezed her back. 

"Happy Birthday, Jelly." When they pulled apart, Jellybean grabbed for the necklace that hung around her neck. It was Bettys gift, a simple silver chain with two 'J' charms. "I'm going to go and see if your Mum needs a hand." 

There was still an hour before any of JBs friends were due to start showing up, but they had made a head start on decorating and making food. As Betty reached the bottom of the stairs, she could hear raised voices from the kitchen. Which was nothing new, but as she got closer she could almost feel the tension in the air. 

"No! Absolutely not." Betty stopped in the doorway to the kitchen. From her vantage point she could see Gladys and Jughead, in a stand off, but they could not see her. 

"Jesus, Mum. It's his Daughters birthday. Of course he wants to speak with her." Jughead had his back to Betty, but she could see the anger in the way his shoulders were set. Gladys was sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen, the house phone in her hands. The way she was looking at Jughead made Bettys breath hitch in her throat. No Mother should look at her Son that way. 

"Did you know he was going to ring? Did you give him our number?" So it was Jellybeans phone she had in her hand. Betty knew Gladys monitored it. When Jughead didn't respond, she slammed her hand against the counter. "Did you give him our fucking number or not?" 

"He is still our Dad, he deserves to know-"

"Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare tell me what that man 'deserves'." Gladys' face was burning, her eyes boring into Jughead. Betty was half surprised he didn't burst into flames where he stood. "Don't ruin JB's day."

"Me ruin it?" Jughead threw his arms in the air. "She should be allowed to speak to her Father on her fucking birthday. Just because he's the one locked up and you like to act like you never- " 

"OUT!" Gladys yelled, pointing towards the doorway where Betty was hiding. Her heart jumped into her throat for a moment, thinking she had been spotted. But when Jughead stomped in her direction she realised he was being dismissed. Right into her direction. Fuck. She tried to make it look like she hadn't been spying by ducking her head, acting surprised when Jughead brushed past her. The look on his face told her he wasn't fooled.

Betty took a deep breath and plastered on a fake smile before breezing into the kitchen, asking Gladys if there was anything she needed a hand with. Betty made no comment when Gladys wiped the tears from under her eyes, or when she told Jellybean it was the neighbors when she had come downstairs to see who was yelling. And she tried to ignore the pained look on JBs face when she knew she was being lied too. Instead she busied herself with setting out the plates of food, and tried to distract Jellybean with making a music playlist. 

Just a little over 2 hours later, and the living room was full with young teenage girls. They were all lovely, but there was only so much high pitched giggling that Betty could handle in one sitting. She excused herself out of the patio doors in the lounge. 

The Jones' garden was very well kept, Gladys had obviously made gardening a bit of a habit. One side was lined with lilies of all different colours, and tucked in the corner was a wooden gazebo. And there, leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees, was Jughead Jones. A cigarette hung from his mouth. He didn't raise his head as she walked in his direction, he just glanced at her from the side of his eye as she sat beside him. He took a drag of his cigarette before putting it out against the table, something his Mother would surely disapprove of. He flicked the butt over the fence. 

"Love thy neighbor." Betty muttered, reminding herself that he probably did put it out for her benefit, and made no further comment. He ignored her anyway. 

"You look nice." He remarked, without looking at her. Betty looked down at the yellow floral playsuit. She would be lying if she didn't admit that she had thought of him when she put it on. Even she would agree her legs looked good in this thing. 

"Thanks," She looked back towards him, taking him in. He wasn't dressed different from any other day, except today his shoulders were braced with a fleece lined collar denim jacket. "It's nice to see you without that straight jacket sometimes.." She was testing the waters, slightly relieved to see the smirk playing on his lips. She nudged his shoulder with hers. "Just kidding."

"Sorry you had to see that." He nodded towards the house. "Sometimes she just.. She drives me up the fucking wall." He laughed, humorlessly. Betty was watching his face, she could see the pain he was trying to mask in his face, evident in the brush of purple that dressed the skin under his eyes. 

"I get it." She assured, wondering just what is was about him that made her feel comfortable. He looked up over his shoulder towards her raising a brow. "I'm a lifetime member of the Crazy Mum Club. I know one when I see one." She shrugged. Jughead sat up, leaning back against the bench table. He sighed. 

"Any tips?" He joked. 

"I'll let you know, if I ever figure it out." Jughead held her gaze for a moment before his eyes flicked back towards the house. Betty could only just make out the song the screaming girls were all trying to sing. The light trace of a smile that had adorned his face a moment ago disappeared. Somehow Betty knew what he was thinking before he could mutter a word. The complete and utter love he has for his sister is something she admired about him from day one. 

"She's okay, Jug. She's a strong girl." His eyes flicked back to hers. "The way your Mum is with her, I've seen it before. I experience it every day, still. The pressure. We just have to make sure JB knows she can stand up for herself." _We,_ had she really just used the term we for her and Jughead?

"You're really great with her, Betty. You're like the sister I never was." He laughed, his eyes wistful as he held Bettys gaze. "Someone to look up to." Betty gave him a warm smile. 

"For what it's worth, I'm on your side. She's old enough to make her own mind about her Dad." She fought the heat she could feel travelling up her neck at the way he was looking at her, the intensity of his gaze as he tilted his head made her want to run and hide. Saw swallowed hard. 

"You don't even know what he's done." He questioned, but his voice was light. Like he was surprised. Betty just shrugged.

"That's still her Dad, you know? Everyone deserves a chance to explain themselves. Besides.." Her eyes raked down Jugheads form, trailing back to his eyes as she bit hard on her bottom lip. "Not everyone is how they seem." And certainly not him. The double headed snake of the Serpents was ironic, she thought. There was one version of him that seemed to come with the leather, and another without it. She had kind of seen them both now, unintentionally. 

Jughead had to clear his throat before speaking. 

"We're not talking about my Dad still, are we?" He queried, making Betty throw her head back in a laugh. 

"Well -"

"Betty!" Jellybean had interrupted Betty, she was stood across the yard at the patio door, waving them over. "We're gonna do the cake. You too, Jug!" Betty looked back at Jughead, and was certain the disappointment at being interrupted she saw on flash across his face was mirrored in her own. He sighed and gave Betty a knowing smile. 

"Come on, Coop." He nudged her as he stood up, reaching his hand out for her own to pull her up. "We've been summoned."

And even though Jughead dropped her hand as soon as she had stood, she could still feel the burn of where he had touch her as they sang Happy Birthday and watched JB blow out her candles, and still even when she lay in her bed that night. 

 

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for all the support this fic is getting everyone :) It's amazing and I'm floored. 
> 
> Not really sure on this chapter, but we have a bit more progression and background.
> 
> Let me know what you think! And come see me over on tumblr! 
> 
> https://allskynostars.tumblr.com/


	4. Acting Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haaai again, before I say anything and before you read a word pretty please go and check out this amazing aesthetic that ever amazing and oh so talented friend of mine, bugheadotp, did for this lil old story of mine. 
> 
> https://bugheadotp.tumblr.com/post/164300752913/inspired-by-strong-by-allskynostars-read-here
> 
> It is amazing, it captured my vibe so well and I'm obsessed. Thank you so much Sarah, ily forever. :)  
> And here is another update for you all, the amazing support I'm getting for this fic is so motivating so thank you all so much. There are no words..  
> (As always edited by me so excuse mistakes)
> 
>  
> 
> *

Even though Jellybean was old enough to look after herself, Jughead would still wake earlier than his sister. After Gladys left for work, he would walk down the hall to knock on JBs bedroom door and make sure she was awake with enough time to get ready for school. 

Except this morning, it was her banging on his door.

"Jug!" Jellybean yelled, her little fist pounding at the wooden door. "Mum wants you on the phone." He groaned. Usually he managed to avoid his Mum in the mornings, it made a better start to his day. But alas, the universe conspires against him as often as possible. Why was he surprised. He threw his legs over the side of his bed and rubbed his hands down his face. 

"Yeah, coming!" He threw back at his sisters persistent knocking. Pulling on a pair of grey sweat pants, he stood from his bed and walked to yank his bedroom door open. He narrowed his eyes as she handed him the phone, poking her tongue at him before skipping back down the stairs. He raised the phone to his ear. 

"What did I do wrong now?" It was never anything positive his Mum had to say to him. 

"Good morning to you too, Jughead." He rolled his eyes, and she probably knew it without looking at him. "I've left my phone at home, and I completely forgot to message Betty and tell her that JB has hockey try outs after school today." 

"Jellybean Jones, circus act extrodanaire." He rertorted. Jellybean was going to be worn out by the time she finished the school year. But it wasn't in Gladys' nature to ease up. When she didn't bite back he added. "Okay, so do what do you need me for?"

"I left my phone on the coffee table in the lounge. Can you please just text Betty and let her know not to come today? I don't have her number on my work phone, otherwise I wouldn't ask such a thing of you." She was being snide on purpose, probably pissed about his comment. 

"Sure, Mother Dearest. Have a lovely day." And then he hung up. Great start to his day. He grabbed his own phone from where it was charging, put it in his pocket, and then head down the stairs. As he walked through the kitchen, he noticed Jellybean sat at the island, playing with her toast more than eating it. He went through to the lounge and grabbed Gladys' phone before coming back to sit next to his sister. 

"You're up early, JB." He commented, flicking through the phone for Bettys number. He looked towards JB, there was a look on her face he couldn't quite decipher. That never happened. He nudged her with his shoulder. "Hey, whats wrong?" His voice laced with concern. JB shrugged before answering. 

"I think, I think I'm just nervous. For hockey try outs." She said it so quietly, it broke Jugheads heart. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in closer. 

"Hey, you're gonna kill it, kid." He kissed the top of her head. "And if not, who cares, hockey sucks anyway." He felt her laugh lightly under him. 

"I'm too old for cuddles, Jughead, get off." Her voice sounded brighter, so he took that as a sign that she was feeling a little better. 

"Excuse me! Just because you think you're some big shot 14 year old now" He tightened his grip, reaching his free hand up to give her a noogie on top of her head. She laughed and squirmed under him until he let her go. The look she gave him was on of annoyance, but her eyes looked less sad and the corners of her mouth tilted upwards, that was enough for him. 

"Now I have to check my hair, jerk." She jumped down from her stool and headed for the bathroom. 

"Hey, Jelly.." He called after her, she turned to him from where she stood in the doorway. "Love you, kid." And there it was, that smile he was hoping to get from her. The only smile he ever really wanted to see. 

"Love you, Jug." And then she was gone, her could hear her walking up the stairs. He flicked his attention back to Gladys' phone, searching for Bettys number. He was about to ring her from his Mums phone, but then had a thought that surprised even him. 

He pulled his own phone from his pocket, and typed in Bettys number to his dial pad. And even though it was before 8am, she answered after the first ring.

"Hello, Elizabeth Cooper speaking." He stifled a laugh at how formal she made her voice. 

"Jesus, did I ring your Mum on accident?" There was an intake of breath on the other line. 

"J-Jughead? Why, how did you get my number?" She sounded flustered, and there was a part of him that was smug in drawing this kind of reaction from her. 

"Relax, buttercup. My Mum left her phone behind, so she asked me to call and tell you that Jellybean has hockey try outs after school today, so you don't need to bother showing face." He was tracing the marble in the counter with his finger, a smirk on his face. Her small laugh like music to his ears.

"I'm sure she said it much nicer than that, but thanks anyway." He could hear the smile in her voice, thinking back to his earlier sentiment. This was the other smile he wanted to see. And then, he was suddenly overhwhelmed with wanting to know what she was doing. Was she still in bed, snuggled underneath her covers? Was she fresh out the shower, a towel wrapped around her small frame? He shook the thoughts from his head, what was wrong with him?  
"Don't mention it. Oh, and Coop?"

"Mmm?" She replied lazily, and he knew she was expecting him to make a smart comment. Jughead was anything but predictable. 

"I'll try not to miss you, too much." He had tried to lace his voice with sarcasm, but it didn't really work. It just came out more sincere than he had intended, and fuck, he really meant to tell _her_ not to miss _him_ too much. Fuck. He could hear her laughing through the phone again, but this time it was louder. He could imagine her throwing her head back, her eyes scrunched tight. She took a moment to reply. 

"Okay, Jug. Sure thing." She snorted, and he realised he had actually gotten away with it. But there was an undertone to her voice, did he hear it wavering? She added so quietly he almost thought he imagined it, "Me too," before more loudly, "Go get ready for school, jerk." And then she hung up. He sat on the stool at the kitchen island for a few more moments, his phone in his hand, not really able to wipe off the grin that encased his mouth. Before he really thought about what he was doing, he saved the number as a new contact in his phone. 

_Coop._

"Did, did you just save Bettys number in your phone?" Jughead swung around on the stool quick smart, his sister stood behind him. He was so engrossed in his stupid little bubble he hadn't noticed her come back in to the kitchen. Hey eyes were wide, her mouth open in a perfect 'o'. "And a nickname? Oh my god, Juggie is in loooove." She started prancing around the kitchen, her arms waving around her. 

"Shut up, you little shit. It's just for your sake, if she's with you then I might need to get in touh with her for some-"

"Oh, you shut up." Jellybean cut in, rolling her eyes in his direction. "The only girls numbers you have in that phone are Mums, and Cheryls. And they don't have any special nicknames." They held each others gaze for a moment. Jelly started to make kissy faces at him. He groaned and stood from his stool, making to leave the kitchen. "Jughead and Betty, sitting in a tree.." Jellybean sung after him. He flipped her the bird over his shoulder. 

"Definitely not!" He called back, making for the stairs to get dressed for school. He could still hear Jellybean prancing in the kitchen, it made him smile. At least he had cheered her up somehow, even if it was unintentional. 

And she was right. What the hell was he doing, saving her number? And as a nickname? This was very un Jughead like of him. But he couldn't help recalling an earlier thought.. It was a great start to the day in the end after all. 

 

-//-

 

"Alright, that's it." Joaquin threw a pen at Jugheads face from where he sat beside him in the cafeteria, throwing his hands up in the air. "Who are you? And what have you done with Jughead?" 

"What?" Jughead pulled his eyes from his phone for a second to raise a brow at Joaquin. He was met with an incredulous look. 

"Um, that," Joaquin nodded his head toward the phone in Jugheads hand, "Has not left your fucking sight since Math. And you don't even use it normally, I struggle to get you to even read my texts, let alone reply. Are you getting laid or something?" Jughead just ignored his remark, a small smirk pulling on his lips. 

"Aw babe, you know you're still my number one." Another pen to the face. 

"Fuck up, Jug." But Joaquin was laughing, trying to look over Jughead shoulder to see who he was texting. Jughead was faster, though, quickly shoving his phone in his pocket. Betty had text him in first period, it was nothing really, but that didn't stop the flush of excitement at her name that Jughead tried to brush off. 

**If you see JB before hand, tell her I say good luck. :)**

He had replied with a 'Sure', before he realised that she probably wouldn't reply to a single word so he quickly followed up with another text about his teacher having food stuck in his teeth and he couldn't concentrate. And from there they hadn't really stopped. 

"Whatever, just don't complain the next time I don't tell you all the details of my late night escapades." Joaquin winked, earning a shudder from Jughead. 

"Oh, thank god." Jughead laughed. "I was happy for you but, that was far, far too much detail last time. I couldn't look at you for a week." 

"I couldn't walk for a wee-"

"Okay! Dude! That's what I mean!" Jughead covered his ears with his hands, shaking his head back and forward. Joaquin threw his head back in laughter, getting up from the bench seat as he bell started to ring. He narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Jughead.

"Cheryl, she will know." He tilted his head slightly at Jughead shaking his own.

"Nope, Cheryl doesn't know shit." He pushed away his own tray, grabbing for his bag under the seat. "There is no shit to know, so drop it." He threw his bag over his shoulder as he stood.

"You said that without a scowl, something is definitely wrong with you.." Joaquin commented, earning a laugh from Jughead. He slapped his hand onto Joaquins shoulder. "You know how fucking hell-bent Cheryl is, Jug. Once she gets her claws in.. That girl scares me sometimes." Joaquin shuddered. 

He wasn't wrong. 

"Is it that girl from Pops? The ballsy one?" Cheryl pried. They were at the Wyrm for a club meeting. Jughead was working behind the bar, serving Cheryl some horrendously coloured drink, on a school night. Surname privileges. Joaquin was sat beside her at the bar, giving Jughead a look that said _'I told you so'_ after informing Cheryl of Jugheads distraction all day. Jughead shook his head, pulling out a draw of clean glasses from the dishwasher behind the bar. Cheryl looked at Joaquin, who just shrugged. 

"It's nobody, I told you." He remarked, drying the glasses off properly and stacking them behind the bar. "You guys are overreacting." 

"No, something has been up with you." Cheryl pointed a finger at him. "You haven't been at Joaquins in a few weeks, in fact I feel like you haven't been around a lot lately at all." Her eyes were trained on Jughead, her brain ticking over. It was true, normally the three of them hung out in Joaquins garage a lot. But Jughead had been staying in a lot over the last month. "And we all know how much you hate being at home, but..." Her voice raised at the end, like a realization, and Jugheads eyes shot up to meet hers. A small smile started to play on Cheryls lips, her head nodding ever so slightly. "Oh." 

Jugheads eyes pleaded with her to not say what she may have just realised out loud. Joaquins head was flicking between the two of them, his eyes wide.  
"What? What did I miss?" Neither of them responded to him, they just held each others gaze. Jughead silently asking her to shut up, and Cheryl seeing how much she could make him squirm.

"Jughead has gone all Cry-Baby on us." The reference was lost on Joaquin. Jughead didn't give Cheryl the bite she was looking for, he just stood there, giving her a look that could kill. There was a loud whistle, signalling the start of the meeting, so Joaquin gave up and headed upstairs. 

"We're not done here, Danny Zuko." Cheryl challenged. Jughead just rolled his eyes, climbing over the bar to follow her upstairs. 

The meeting was pretty uneventful, and Jughead wished he could just sit these out. If it had been up to Viper, he probably could. But Frankie had a grudge towards Jug, and Cheryl as well, that they never had an initiation. They hadn't had to prove themselves, as he put it. So it was better not to wind him up. He was assigned another deal for the weekend, this one he would have to ride to Greendale for, with Joaquin. Jugheads shift was over when the meeting finished, so he made a beeline out the front before anyone could catch him. But he should have known he couldn't outsmart the Blossom queen. She was already outside, leaning against his bike, puffing on a cigarette. 

"Tutt tutt, and where do you think you're going?" She eyed him, blowing smoke into his face. "Give me all the details on you and little miss Sandra Dee and then I'll let you go."

"Jesus, Cher." He ran his hands down his face. "There is honestly no details to tell you yet." Her brow raised at the use of the word yet, and Jughead wanted to kick himself. Idiot. "For fuck sake. We kind of had a moment at JBs birthday, it was nothing, really. She just, she understands where I'm coming from. She didn't judge." He shrugged, unable to help the small smile he could feel pulling up the corners of his mouth. "We're just texting, just as friends. It's all cool."

"Its, all cool?" Cheryl mocked, biting back a laugh. Jughead pushed her away from his bike with a huff. 

"Okay, thats enough." He sighed, swinging his leg over the seat of his bike. Cheryl put her hand on his shoulder before he could start the engine. 

"Hey, just be careful. Okay? She's all 'Mother Theresa' and you're.." Her voice trailed off. 

"I know what I'm not, Cheryl. And for the last time, we're just friends." He caught her eyes with his own, offering her a smile. "Can I take my leave now, you're highness?" She nodded and stood there, watching him ride away. Joaquin came outside and stood beside her, lighting his own cigarette. 

"Are you gonna tell me?" He asked on inhale. Cheryl turned to him, tilted her head and smiled sweetly. 

"Nope." 

 

-//-

 

**Okay, we've already established you are freakishly in love with Tarantino, so what is your favourite film of his?**

Jughead smiled down at the text from Betty. He was perched on his bike outside Joaquins house, waiting for him to come out so they could leave for Greendale and do the deal. 

**I know you're probably expecting me to go old school, but I could watch Inglorious Basterds every day for the rest of my life.**

They had been texting all week, even when Betty was at his place with JB. They had shared secret smiles whenever they were in each others presence, but he was pretty sure Jellybean had noticed. Thankfully Gladys had not, although she was always working lately. Even this weekend, she had a conference in New York that she flew out for this morning. It was only one Saturday night, but she had still asked Betty if she would be okay to stay over and watch JB. 

Part of Jug was a little hurt that his Mother didn't trust him to look after his own sister, but the other part was more excited to have Betty stay at his place over night. 

**Okay, you're sadistic. Help?**

He laughed, about to reply before another text came through. 

**Kidding. We could watch it tonight, after Jelly goes to bed? If you'd like.**

He was grinning so big he was pretty sure his cheeks would start hurting. 

"There it is again, the smile that doesn't match the man." Joaquin had come out from his house without Jughead noticing. He looked up at his friend, about to speak when Joaquin cut him off. "I'm not even gonna ask, Jug. Lets just go."

Jughead typed out a quick reply before shoving his phone down into his jacket pocket with his beanie as he pulled his helmet over his head. 

**You've got yourself a deal, Coop.**

He lead the way to Greendale with Joaquin on his tail, pulling into an abandoned playground just outside of the town. They parked up and removed their helmets. Jughead pulled out his phone to check the time. 

"Okay, it's 5.30 now. They should be here soon." They stood there for another half hour before anyone showed up, and it had Jughead annoyed. 

"Cade, right? You're late." He informed him, standing straight with is arms folded. Joaquin opened the saddlebag on his bike, pulling out the ounce of weed. Cade just shrugged. Jughead looked around suspiciously. 

"You here alone?"

"Yep." He stopped in front of Jughead, and matched his stance. Jughead knew something was off, he could feel it in the space between them. His gaze flicked back towards Joaquin, giving him a signal to keep a look out. "Got my stuff?" Cade asked. 

"Got my money?" Jughead retorted, raising his brow. Cade just laughed before he reached around to his back pocket slowly. He pulled out a wad of cash, which only put Jughead even more on edge. He started to count it out, note by note. Jughead knew he was buying time, noticing how his eyes kept flicking to somewhere behind Joaquin.

And just as he went to hand Jughead the cash, there was a rustling from behind Joaquin, and somebody had come from behind and tackled him to the ground. Jughead moved quicker than than Cade, throwing a punch that meet his jaw with a thud. 

"Get the fuck off me." He could hear Joaquin struggling behind him. Jughead dodged a rebound hit, and threw another with such force Cade lost his balance and hit the ground. Jughead got down over him, trapping his arms with his knees. He hit him again before snatching the entire wad cash from his hand. 

"Idiot. You made that too easy." Jughead seethed, tucking the cash in his pocket. He spat in Cades face before pushing up off him to help Joaquin. "Get the fuck out of here." Jughead yelled, and he didn't need to be told twice before cowering away. 

Joaquin was putting up a good fight, although he had taken a hit to the face, obvious from the cut on his lip. Jughead yanked the other guy back by his jacket, noticing the embellished Skull of the rival gang on the back for the first time. He should have known. There was a prospect patch, and Jughead figured this was some kind of initiation. He threw him to the ground and let him get up on his own, watching him intently as he dusted himself off. 

"This is Snake durastiction, you scum. What do you think you're doing here?" Jughead was so angry, all he could see was red. This was the kind of shit he didn't want to get caught up in. Before he got an answer, though, the guy came at him full speed, getting a hit in to Jugheads right cheek. "Fuck!" 

And then he was gone, his tail between his legs with no weed and no money. Jughead held his hand under his nose to catch the blood as he turned to Joaquin. 

"You good, man?" 

"Yeah, I'm good. Fucking hell, Jug. What was that about? How did that deal even happen?" Joaquin was throwing the weed he had managed to keep a hold of back into the saddlebag on his bike. Jughead just shrugged.

"That other kid was wearing a Prospect patch for the Skullers, so you gotta go tell Viper once we get back. Here." He threw the money at him. "He won't be mad at us, we made a gain." Joaquin nodded, looking towards Jug.

"You not coming back to the Wyrm?" He asked. Jughead shook his head.

"Nah, I need to get back to JB. Mums away for the night." Joaquin nodded before climbing back onto his bike. Jughead checked his face over in his mirrors, wincing at the gash across his cheek. He knew his eye would probably start to darken by the time he made it home. And Betty was there, so she would see. And then he'd have to explain, and maybe this is something she wouldn't understand. 

"Great." He muttered out loud, before climbing on his own bike and heading home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts, y'all. :)  
> And come chat with me on Tumblr toooo.  
> https://allskynostars.tumblr.com/
> 
> xx


	5. Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITS 3.27AM AND I AM  
> FINALLY UPDATING THIS DAMN FUCKING FIC..
> 
> Sorry for yelling but I'm so sorry this update took an age, I've been super busy and super uninspired lately but I was determined to post today so here we are. :)
> 
> I don't even think I like a single part of this chapter, but oh well. It needed to go up. Hope at least some part of this super long update was worth the wait! Lemme know! 
> 
> You will notice the quality drop dramatically the further along you get, and probably tense mistakes too but it's nearly 4am and I do not have the energy nor patience to edit properly.   
>  
> 
> **

"I miss you so much, Poll. You have no idea how good it is to see your face." Betty smiled into the screen of her laptop, her sister mirroring her own position in a different bed, leaning against the bed frame. Two sisters, so alike in looks but not much else. One in potentially the smallest town to ever exist; Riverdale, and the other in one of the busiest cities in the world; London. "So, tell me everything!" 

"Betty, I wish you were here. This place is amazing and I know you would love it." Polly told Betty animatedly about the theatre that was just down the road from her place, and how every time she went she thought of her. "There's just, god, there's just so much _life_ here Betty. There's never a dull moment, there's always something new happening somewhere." 

"Unlike here." Betty sighed, pulling the pillow on her lap closer too her. "Literally, nothing has changed. Oh, wait, that's a lie. Mum made apple instead of peach pie last night, can you believe it?" Pollys laugh flowed through the crappy speakers of Betty's laptop, and she found herself wishing she could hear it properly. She ached to hold her sister, to have that companionship that only a fellow Cooper daughter could provide. Polly noticed the way Betty's face had dropped, she tilted her head to the side slightly. 

"You should be here, doing this with me." 

"I wish." Betty replied, letting her mind wander for just a moment, while she played with a loose thread on the pillow in her lap, to what it could be like. Living in a new city, free to do as she pleased without the watchful eye of Alice Cooper judging her every movement. 

"Do it." Betty's eyes flicked to Pollys through the screen, a questioning look on her face, to which her which her sister just shrugged. "Why not? It's simple enough to get a visa, and you can stay with me. I could find you a job, it's all so easy Betty. Why the hell not?" The excitement in Pollys voice at the thought of having her sister with her was building the more she tried to convince Betty. 

"But. What, what about school? I got accepted into Med- "

"Betty, university is not going anywhere. It'll still be there when you're done living a little." Polly interrupted. "What do you have to stay for? You know that Veronica and Archie wouldn't stop you. It's not like you have a boyfriend. Right? If it's just about Mum and Dad I wouldn't ev.. Hold on." Polly stopped mid sentence, watching the way Betty's face changed at a certain word. "Oh my god, Betty. Do you have a boyfriend?" Polly repositioned herself, trying to get closer to the screen. "I don't know if my contrast is too high but, are you _blushing?_ " Betty could definitely feel her cheeks turning pink, but she wasn't about to admit that out loud. 

"No, I definitely do not." She was looking anywhere but at the screen, deciding the loose thread on her pillow needed her full attention. "I would have told you that, Poll."

"Betty?" The needy tone to her voice drew Betty's eyes back to the screen. "Is there a boy?" 

"I mean.." Betty trailed off, shrugging. She didn't really know the answer herself. Her and Jughead had pretty much been in constant contact all week, but who knows what that could mean. Also, the fact that Betty was sleeping over at his place tonight was heavy in her mind. Even though she was just there to babysit Jellybean, she couldn't help her mind from wondering. She liked Jughead, that much was apparent in the way her hands her clamming up just thinking about him. "I don't really know, Polly. It's early days, okay?"

"Okay." Polly didn't press the subject anymore, instead she just smiled at Betty and mimicked a zip closing her mouth. She started to type away at her keyboard, and then there was a ding to signal that Betty had a new message. She opened it up, and clicked on the link Polly had sent through. It took her to the visa page on the immigration website, which Betty bookmarked before reopening her video call. "Whatever happens, with school or with whoever.." She winked,"I really want you to think about what I said, about coming here. I think it could be really good for you, Betty." The smile her sister was giving her warmed Betty's chest. She nodded, smiling herself. 

"Okay, I will. I promise." Then Betty's face dropped, the sound light footsteps up the stairs alerting her to Alice's approach. "Shit, Mums coming." Betty warned her sister. 

"Okay, that's my cue. I have to go to work anyway. Keep me updated, okay?" 

"Of course, Poll." Betty could hear her mother calling her name now. 

"And think about it, please. I'll call you soon, love you. Bye!" Betty didn't have time to reply before the call was ended and the screen went black, just as Alice let herself in without knocking. 

"Elizabeth, are your ears turned off or what? I was calling you from downstairs.." Her voice trailed off at the sight of Betty sitting cross legged on her bed, the laptop sat suspiciously in front her her. "What are you doing?" Betty scrambled to close the screen, not wanting her mum to figure out exactly what she had been doing. Polly and Alice hadn't spoken in months, and even though it upset Betty, she wasn't about to step on her sisters toes and blurt to their mother. 

"Sorry, I was just doing some research, I was really engrossed in it I didn't hear you calling out." Betty knew how much of a shitty liar she was, and for a moment she almost expected Alice to confront her about it. But instead she just gave her a knowing smile. 

"Good girl. Now, is it tonight you are staying over at the Jones'?" Betty nodded, getting slightly worried Alice was about to tell her she wasn't allowed. "I'm not exactly happy about you staying over night on that side of town, but you've made a commitment, so. What time would you like me to take you?" Betty let out a breath she hadn't really realised she'd been holding. 

"JBs soccer match finishes after 3, so sometimes before that. Gladys left me a key, and I don't really want to leave JB on her own at all." Alice nodded, agreeing with Betty's responsible reasoning. 

"Okay, fine. Just let me know." Alice made to leave her bedroom, turning her head round just as she got to the door. "Oh, and next time, please ask Polly to answer my calls." And then she was gone. Betty fell back against her bed, letting out a deep sigh. Why couldn't her family just be normal, just for once. She let her mind wonder to Pollys suggestion for a moment, thinking about how much fun it would be to live in a different country, let alone city. She had always wanted to go to London, and given that her sister was there, who she missed so much, it was certainly something worth considering. Not even to mention how the further away from Alice she was, the better she would feel. Betty couldn't stop herself from getting excited, the thought of seeing so many sights and having so many new experiences was pulling on her heart strings. She was snapped out of her daze by a text alert. 

**So, I hear you're staying at my place tonight?**

Jugheads name on her screen was something else that pulled on her heart strings. 

**She's paying me double time, for both children.**

She laughed out loud as she sent her reply. 

**So I watch JB, you watch me?**

Betty knew she was being baited, but she took it anyway. 

**Something along those lines.**

But the irony wasn't lost on Betty. She had wondered why on earth Gladys would ask her to stay and look after JB, when she had a brother who was perfectly capable. She filed the thought away, adding it to the pile of things that didn't add up with the Jones family. 

**When do I get my cut of the cash then, Coop?**

Betty bit her lip, trying to conjure up some witty reply. 

**Oh no, does being a broody biker boy not pay too well?**

She just watched her screen, waiting for his response. 

**It's a struggle out here.**

She smiled at the screen, but before she could type out a reply, he sent another. 

**But I accept all major payment types ;)**

And there she was, blushing from a text. Just from some words on a tiny little screen. Normally Betty was repelling of mindless flirting from boys, but it seemed not the case for this one. 

**"Lesson number one: Don’t underestimate the other guy’s greed.”**

His reply was quick this time. 

**Did you just quote Scarface? I think I might love you.**

Betty could feel her heart start to race beneath her ribs, as yet another blush creeped across her cheeks. She quickly threw her phone face down on her bed with a grin, thinking she might keep him hanging for a little while. 

It was 11am now and she had more than enough time to get ready to leave. She glanced back at her phone before she quickly rose from her bed and made her way to the bathroom. She turned the shower on and made sure to grab her razor, she was definitely planning on wearing her shortest pair of pyjama pants tonight, so she needed to make sure she was prepared. 

She climbed into the shower, letting her thoughts roam as the water beat into her back. Alice had no idea about Jughead, and Betty was pretty sure that she wouldn't be so accepting of her staying the night if she did. Must remember not to slip up, she thought to herself.

And then Archie's voice was in her head _"Just be careful."_ Careful of what? Jughead? She thought. Even though Betty knew how it would look to an outsider, she felt she knew Jughead well enough to know she didn't need to be careful. He was not who everyone thought he was. And although she didn't quite know just how far his charm has gotten him with other girls, she could only presume, there was no pressure. 

She shook her head, flicking water everywhere. Of course there was no pressure, there was no nothing. She didn't even know if he liked her, he could just be mindlessly flirting to pass the time. God knows she was making it easy for him. She couldn't really lie to herself anymore, there was no denying the fact that she felt some kind of something for Jughead. And the thought of spending some time alone with just him made that fluttery feeling in her chest return tenfold. She sighed deeply before she reached for the vanilla body wash. 

 

She made a beeline straight for her phone once she was back in her room, she had intended to drag it out a bit longer but she knew she was slightly pathetic and just couldn't. Jughead had sent her another message. 

**If you start quoting Quinten Tarantino I might just have to marry you right now.**

**Shall I get my Mia Wallace costume ready for the ceremony?**

They spent the next few hours throwing film references back and forward, and Betty was surprised how attractive she found his ability to just run quotes off at bay. They had made plans to watch a film later tonight when JB was asleep, and Betty couldn't explain why she was so excited. 

It was late evening and Betty was at the Jones household now, laid back on the couch watching some trashy reality TV with JB who was coming down from her victory high. 

"Two goals, Jelly? That's amazing." Betty felt like a proud big sister, which was kind of ironic in a way. Jellybean beamed from the other side of the living room. 

"Wish Jug would hurry up and get home so I can brag to him." Betty laughed, she loved the playful relationship between the two. Jughead wasn't home yet, although Betty wasn't surprised. He had mentioned he would be out until late evening, and it was obviously one of those errands Betty wouldn't dare ask about. Not that it was any of her business. She made her way to the kitchen and busied herself by making some dinner for Jellybean, Gladys had left out ingredients to make mac and cheese. It was almost too simple for Betty's culinary talent, but she must have left out of her bio. 

"I am old enough to feed myself, jeez Mum." Jellybean sighed, coming into the kitchen behind Betty, she took a seat on one of the island stools. "I swear she still thinks I'm 8." 

"You're the baby after all." Betty joked, picking up the saucepan to drain the macaroni. She tried to ignore the way her pulse sped up at the distant sound of a motorbike approaching, then turning down the street. 

"I don't think Jug was ever a baby." Jellybean pondered. "I swear he just walked out of the womb with that beanie on his head and that stupid scowl on his face." Both girls burst out into laughter while Betty added the cheese sauce to the macaroni. Jellybeans laughter stopped almost instantly as the front door opened and Jughead lumbered in with his helmet under his arm. 

"Oh my god, Jug? What the hell happened to you?" Jellybeans voice was laced with so much concern Betty's head automatically whipped around to see what was wrong. Her heart leaped into her throat. He'd obviously been involved in some kind of fight, there was a graze on his cheek that was caked with dried blood, and his eye was turning a light purple colour. Jellybean rushed over to him, trying to get a closer look. 

"It's nothing." Jughead shrugged, locking eyes with Betty before his gaze fell to the floor. 

"It doesn't look lik-"

"Forsythia, leave it." He snapped, not giving anyone a second glance as he stormed into the hall. Betty was shocked, for more than one reason. She had ever heard Jughead raise his voice to JB like that, nor had she ever seen her look so hurt. And she was also surprised at the fact that Jughead had called her Forsythia, which Betty took at a guess was her real name. Betty cleared her throat before announcing that dinner was ready. 

"Is it okay if I eat in my room? I'm kind of tired." Jellybean sounded deflated, and Betty couldn't help but wonder if Jughead showing up like this was something that happened regularly. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. 

"Of course. Are you alright, JB?" Betty asked as she handed her a bowl full of pasta. Jellybean just shrugged, accepting her dinner with a thanks she headed upstairs. Betty served herself a bowl, and took it into the lounge to eat. She flicked through a few channels, settling on some rom com so distract her. As she ate she couldn't help feeling a little annoyed that her plans for the night had been soiled. Just as she thought about heading to the spare room herself, Jughead leaned around the doorway, a DVD copy of Inglorious Basterds sticking out between his crossed arms. 

"I'm going to have to take back that proposal." He said lightly, nodding toward the TV. "And here I was, thinking you had good taste." Betty noticed he wouldn't look directly at her face. She didn't reply, instead just watched him as he came and sat beside her on the couch. She could see the tension in his shoulders. He sat on her right side, so she couldn't see the gash on his face. His hair was damp, though, and she could smell the shampoo he had used. Betty reached out her hand to cradle his chin between her thumb and forefinger, slowly turning his face around so she could get a closer look. The cut was clean, all traces of the dried blood down the drain. Now it was clean Betty could see it wasn't awfully big, relieved that it probably would heal quickly. 

"Do you want some ice, for your eye?" She asked lowly. She could feel his breath on her face, and realising the proximity she dropped her hand from his chin and pulled back. Jughead just nodded slowly, swallowing hard. 

"It really doesn't hurt that bad, and it's not swelling up. I'm fine, honestly." He finally looked her in the eye then, and she could see the sincerity in them. "I'm sorry, about before. I didn't mean to be an asshole." 

"I don't think it's me you need to apologise too." Betty noted. Jughead groaned, dropping his head back against the couch. He brought his hands up to drag down his face. 

"Fuck, and I called her by her real name. She's going to kill me." Betty couldn't help but let out a light laugh at the fact that that was his main concern. "She's going to tell you mine now. And eye for an eye." 

"Is it really that bad?" Betty asked, nudging his side with her shoulder. He gave her a look that gave her the answer. 

"You basically already know, you just need to take away a few letters." He watched her face for a moment, wondering is she was going to try and work it out. Instead she just shrugged. 

"You can tell me when you're ready." He gave her a small smile, to which she responded with a smirk. "Unless Jellybean gets too it first, of course." He groaned again. She pulled the DVD from his hand, waving it in front of him. "You still wanna watch this, then?" 

"If you do, yeah." He looked at her hopefully. She nodded quickly, throwing the case back into his lap.

"I'm going to go get changed. You put this in and make some popcorn." She was leaving the room before he could reply, making her way upstairs to the spare room where she had put all her stuff. She quickly changed into her, almost too short, pyjama shorts and a white loose tank she used for sleeping. She took her hair out from its ponytail, running her fingers through it so it sat nicer. She glanced at herself in the mirror before leaving the room, wondering why the hell she cared so much what she looked in in pyjamas, for god sake. Jellybeans bedroom door is the last in the hall before the stairs, so Betty stood outside and knocked lightly. 

"You okay, Jelly?" She calls through the door. 

"Yeah, thanks Betty." Came her reply. "I'm just going to get an early night." 

"Okay, see you in the morning." Betty reminded herself to check on her again later, just to make double sure she was okay. She could smell the popcorn as she headed down the stairs, slightly surprised at what awaited her in the lounge. 

Jughead had turned all the lights off, made the popcorn which was in a bowl in his lap that was covered with the soft throw from the back of the couch. He looked up from the TV where the opening menu was playing to Betty, smiling sweetly he pulled up a corner of the blanket, patting the spot next to him on the couch. She watched his eyes gaze down the length of her legs, feeling a smirk grow on her face at how his eyes lingered longer than they should have. She skipped over and climbed onto the couch next to him.

"You know this isn't exactly a kind of snuggling film, right?" She teased, pulling the blanket over her legs. 

"Oh, Coop. That is where you are mistaken." He whispered as the film started, bringing his arm to rest against the back of the couch behind Betty. And as they watched Brad Pitt skin some nazis, Jugheads hand fell noticeably closer to Betty's shoulder every so often, until she could feel his fingertips brushing her skin. He absentmindedly traced circles on the edge of her shoulder, causing goosebumps to rise along her arm. She shuddered at the feeling, and Jughead glanced down at her face. 

"Are you cold?" He asked, and Betty could hear the smirk in his voice without even looking at him. She shook her head lightly, not wanting to look away from the screen. She could feel Jugheads gaze lingering on her face, causing the heat to rise in her chest. "You're gorgeous, Betty. I just, I had to tell you that at least once." The sentiment caught her by surprise, but she tried to mask it. She also tried to mask the rate at which her heart was beating considering he thought she was gorgeous. 

"Just once?" She queried, shooting him some side eye. She saw him roll his eyes. 

"Don't push it, buttercup." He joked before wrapping his arm around Betty completely and pulling her into his side. She snuggled her head into his chest, finding his heart beat was something that soothed her. The way it beat, hard and sure beneath her, confirming that she really was here. Somehow. She felt him sigh as his cheek came to rest against the top of her head. "Thanks for not asking any questions, about earlier." He said quietly, into her hair. 

"I figured I wouldn't want to know anyway." Betty whispered back, grasping at his shirt where her hand laid on his chest. He didn't reply, instead he placed a light kiss into her hair. They stay like that until the movie finished, snuggled into one another. "Can you believe he worked on that script for nearly a decade?" Betty asked as she watched the credits roll down the screen. 

"Yeah, that's why it's so good." He laughed, more than a little biased. Betty poked her elbow into his side. 

"Alright, Tarantino fanboy. Next time I get to choose, deal?" Betty crooked her neck to look up at Jughead, hoping like hell that he was on the same page as her. She would watch every film that's ever been made if it meant she could lay into him like this, enclosed in his arm. He bopped the top of her nose with his finger. 

"Deal. Thanks for babysitting me, Coop." He smiled down at her as his fingers caressed her cheek. She took in a deep breath. 

"Can I ask you something?"

"You're going to anyway, aren't you?" He joked, still smiling. Betty nodded her head slightly. 

"It's not that I'm complaining, because I'm having a lovely night." She loved the way his eyes lit up the room, the depth of them emphasised by the low light in the room. "But, do I really need to be here? Can't you watch JB?" She watched his face, waiting for a reaction, anxious that she may have poured salt into an unnecessary wound. She watched his shoulders deflate as his eyes flittered from her own, coming to focus on the wall behind her head. 

"Ain't that the million dollar question, huh?" He huffed out a humourless laugh. "I don't know if you've noticed, but me and my Mum aren't exactly best friends." Betty snorted at the sarcasm, that fact sure wasn't lost on her. His eyes fell back to hers. "But, long story short. She doesn't trust me enough to look after Jellybean." Now that he was looking at her again, she could see the ache that he buried deep. Betty's brow furrowed. 

"How could she not? You're a great big brother." Jughead widened his eyes at her, referencing back to earlier in the evening. Betty sighed and pulled away from him, choosing to sit up and face him directly. "Come on, Jug, anyone can see how much you freaking love your sister just by watching you with her. Surely you're the one person in the world your Mum should trust her with?" She reached out and grasped his hand between her own and felt his fingers tighten around her own. 

"I remind her too much of my Dad, Betts. I can see it whenever she looks at me. She'll deny it if anyone asks, but I know it." His grip on her hand tightened even more as he spoke, and his gaze was so heavy Betty could almost see it, a thick haze in the air. "I can fucking feel it. If she doesn't hate me yet, she must be close too it." 

"Jug.. " Betty's voice is low. She hadn't meant for her line of questioning to bring her here, but she wanted to know everything he was willing to tell her. 

"I know, I know how it sounds but I can't help feeling that way." Jugheads voice comes out so weak that it physically hurts Betty to hear. She raised a hand to his face, caressing his cheek with her thumb. Her other was still grasped between Jugheads hands. 

"You are justified to feel how you feel, Jughead." Her voiced trailed off, wanting to ask a question that she already knew the answer too. But he hadn't told her directly, and she wasn't about to give away what she already knew. "Your Dad, is he.." Jughead swallowed hard before answering, his gaze fell to their clasped hands. 

"He's in prison, yeah. Mum just thinks I'm going to end up like him. Like I'm some kind of carbon copy. I look like him, I think my leather gives her some kind of fucking flashbacks." His eyes flick back up to hers again, with so much heat it takes Betty by surprise. She swore almost feel the heat behind them, warming her skin. "But I'm not, Betty. Im not gonna end up like him." He started to shake his head repeatedly, back and forth back and forth. Betty pulled her other hand from his grasp, bringing it to his other cheek so she could hold his face still.

"Hey, hey, I know." Betty cooed, trying to reassure him.

"I love my Dad. I do. But I don't want to be him. I'm not going to be him. I'm going to college, I'm going to get out." He was still shaking, Betty's hands didn't do much in the way of stopping that but she sure wasn't about to drop them. His voice was no longer weak, it came out sure, strong. There were tears in his eyes, but they were from anger. From frustration. "This is all just a means to and end. I swear it. I won't be him. This won't be my life." And she believes it, she believes him. 

"Juggie, hey, I know. I know." Betty tried to calm him down, stroking her hands down his face. "You're worth so much more than any of this, you know that. I know that. The people who matter, know that." Her thumb caught a tear that betrayed him, trailing down his face. His eyes are trained on her face, tracing all her features before catching her gaze. The air was static between them. Betty was almost to afraid to move for for fear of being shocked. Jugheads tongue ran along his bottom lip as his gaze flicked between Betty's eyes and her mouth. Suddenly Betty was parched and Jughead was the only means of survival she could see. 

"I.. Betty," His voice trailed off, silently asking permission. She gave it too him in the form of pressing her mouth to his. Softly at first, her fingertips pressing hard into the skin of his face. Their lips stick together slightly as she pulled away, and she opened her eyes in time to see a smile turning up the corners of his mouth. That was enough of an invitation for Betty to kiss him again, harder this time. More sure. And she must have done something right, because Jugheads hands suddenly gripped her waist tightly. Betty whimpered into his mouth at the pressure. He used his leverage to push her back against the couch, one of his hands came to grasp her neck, his fingers tangling into her hair, tugging lightly. She ran her tongue against his, willing to to tangle with his own. He's hovered over her now, bracing himself on his forearms. But he's not close enough for Betty's liking, and she lets him know by wrapping her legs around his waist, locking them together and pulling him down on top of her. 

She could feel him against her core, the friction making her burn. Bucking her hips up towards him, she rolled against the hardness in his jeans, revelling in the groan that grew in his throat. His mouth traced kisses along her jaw and down her neck, his teeth grazed against her collarbone. 

"Jug, wait, hold on." She pushed lightly against his chest, only wanting him take his weight from her. But Jughead sat up quickly, raising his hands up, palm out. She couldn't help but miss him against her. 

"We take this at your pace, Betty. Whatever you wanna do." He said it so sincerely, Betty almost choked on her words. She hadn't mean for him to take it that way, he wasn't pushing her to do anything. Hell, she had kissed him first after all. 

"I just, I've never.." She gave him a lopsided smile as she sat back up beside him. 

"Anything?" He raised his brow, the surprise evident in his tone. She looked away shyly, shaking her head. It's not that it was something to be embarrass about, she was only 16. But here, with Jughead, she was overwhelmed with the need to impress him. And it was ridiculous. He grabbed her face gently, pulling it back to his his own as he kissed her nose. 

"There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's probably a good thing, because I can be pretty territorial.." He widened his eyes in suggestion, causing Betty to laugh lightly. Her voice was light, and she closer her eyes before she spoke. 

"It's just, I know you've probably got people to compare me too and I'm worried I won't li-" 

"Woah, hey." He shook her head lightly between his hands. She opened her eyes to look at him, and his smile is almost too much. It was like looking directly into the sun. "Nobody compares to you, Coop. Trust me. And I mean," He shrugged, "I've had a few starters but never a main course."

She laughed, hard, "You what?" He shook his head. 

"Sorry, crappy analogy. I've done other things, but I've never had sex before." He said it just like that, he didn't shy away from it. 

"Really, seriously?" She was genuinely shocked. He laughed at the look on her face. 

"Yes, Betty. I swear. Everything you may have heard has all been lies." He winked. "Except I guess I am kinda cute." She smacked his arm before pressing her mouth to his again, pulling away only for a moment. 

"You're cute as fuck, Jones. Now take me to bed. Doing this on your Mothers couch feels like a betrayal." She faked a shudder before accepting the hand he held out for her. He stopped to kiss her so many times on the way to his bedroom it took nearly 10 minutes to get up the stairs. They finally made it to his room, and she only had a moment to take in his minimalist approach to décor before she's pushed into his bed on her back. She took him in as he pulled off his t shirt, all his angles and dips of muscle. He was a hell of a lot leaner than that leather jacket would let you believe. 

And then his mouth was on hers again, wet and heavy. He was being cautious, but Betty wanted none of that. She grabbed one of his hands from where it lay above her head, leading it down her side to rest against her thigh. He pulled away from her mouth to give her a look that said ever so clearly _are you sure?_ She nodded so vigorously her head could have come away from her neck. He mouth was back on her neck, it seemed to be his favourite spot. The hand she had placed on her thigh trailed back up her side, snaking underneath her tank top. She was suddenly aware of every inch of her skin as his fingers caressed the skin underneath her breast. 

He let his fingers wonder so slowly, Betty knew it was for her benefit. She could tell him to stop anytime, and of course he would. But she trusted him with this. With herself. So she welcomed the feeling that took over her whole body when his fingers danced over her nipple so slightly. She welcomed every feeling Jughead Jones would cause with open arms. He swept and pulled at her gently, and she could feel the heat polling between her thighs. She had never been overcome with such need in her entire life. 

"Juggie.. Please." She spoke so lightly into his mouth, raising her hips to meet his, letting him know just exactly what she was asking for. He led his hand back down to her thing, trailing along the her of her pyjama shorts. 

"These legs, Coop." He let out a low whisper and shook his head. "Honestly." 

Betty couldn't really find any words to reply, instead using her tongue for another purpose. Her breath hitched as she felt his hand slip beneath her shorts. He ran his fingers along her lightly, groaning at the dampness of the material. 

"Fucking hell, Betty." He looked down at her and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth shyly. He held eye contact as he quicker his pace, rubbing over the material of her panties. Betty's eyes fluttered closed at the feeling, wondering why it never felt this good when she did it herself. She surprised herself with the moan that escaped her mouth as Jugheads fingers slipped underneath her panties. 

There was no way she could ever put into words how this felt. Every nerve ending was standing upright, tingling every time he moved his fingers against her. Her head fell back against the pillow with a thud, giving Jughead full access to her neck yet again. He sucked on the base of her neck at the same time he slipped a single digit inside of her, slowly. The shock the pain and pleasure caused her eyes to open, her pupils blown wide. Jughead was looking down at her, the look on his face one Betty had never seen before. 

"I'll go slow," He said softly, "If you need me to stop, you just tell me, okay?" Tears stung behind Betty's eyes, not from the pain but instead from the way Jughead was looking at her. As if she was ethereal. "You are so beautiful." 

"Don't.. Don’t stop." Was all Betty could manage in reply. He peppered more kisses down her neck as added a second finger into her, moving slowly to let her adjust. When her moans became more certain, Jughead started to move his thumb against her clit. Then it was all over for Betty. "Jughead! Fuck, oh my.." He quickened his pace, curling his fingers inward slightly to hit that spot that made her cuss. His thumb worked quick circles against her clit. Given it was a first for Betty, all this partnered with Jughead sucking on the base of her neck meant she fell apart against his hand quicker than she would have liked. The scratches she left down his back evidence of how much she had enjoyed herself. 

He wiped his fingers on the bed sheet before wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her against his side. 

"You okay, baby?" He cooed, kissing her temple.

"Jughead." She was still catching her breath. "That was.. I can't find an appropriate enough word for whatever the hell that was. Except, thank you?" She felt him laugh against her. She couldn't fight the yawn that escaped her, and Jughead pulled her even tighter against him. He placed another kiss on her forehead. 

"You did so good. Let's get you some rest, huh?" Suddenly Betty was exhausted, she didn't even have enough energy to muster a response. Instead she just wrapped her arms around Jugheads middle and rest her head again his chest, letting the steady beat of his heart sing her to sleep. Just as the claws of sleep were pulling her in, she felt a Jughead whisper into her hair.

"You are something else, Betty Cooper." He sighed. "I'm so done for." 

She fell asleep with what could possibly the happiest heart on the planet.


	6. No Good Could Come

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long my loves, thanks you hanging in there :) 
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> As always edited by myself so excuse errors! 
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> *

When Jughead woke that morning, it took him a moment to remember why there was a blonde girl wrapped around him. 

And then it came back to him.

He turned his head slowly, as not to wake Betty, and took her in. Her leg was thrown over his waist, her head on his chest. They must have fallen asleep like this and not moved at all, he thought to himself. A smile grew on his face as he watched her sleeping form. She looked even more beautiful as she slept, and he hoped the heavy beating of his heart didn't stir her. He glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was only 6am, but he knew his Mother would be home in a few hours, and Jellybean would definitely notice the fact that the guest bed had not been slept in. 

Grudgingly, he pulled himself out from underneath her gently. She made the smallest noise at the loss of his presence, but settled back down into his pillow. He stood there for a moment, admiring how her golden hair was splayed against his pillow. She looked so innocent, wrapped in his sheets, and if he could he would just stand here all day and watch her. Instead, he grabbed his phone from the bedside table and snapped a silent photo. He slipped on a pair of sweats and snuck to the guest room. He ruffled the covers in an attempt to make the bed look slept in, satisfied with his efforts. On the way back to his own room he placed an ear to Jellybeans door, listening for any sign of activity. But of course a 14 year old would not be awake before 10am on a Sunday. He owed her a rather big, soppy apology today.

Jughead closed his own bedroom door quietly as he snuck back in, and stood against it for a moment. This was the first time he had had a girl in his own bed, and the fact that it was Betty made it far more special. But he was concerned for a moment she would worry when she woke, did they move too fast last night? The thought had crossed his mind, but damn, it just felt so right. 

He moved to sit on the edge of his bed, drinking her in all over again. Betty had moved to lie on her front and her tshirt had ridden up slightly, exposing the skin of her lower back. His hand reached out instinctively, his fingers itching to touch her again. Her skin was so soft it felt like silk on his fingertips as he caressed her back slowly. His fingers ran underneath her t shirt, splaying against the rest of her back. It was a few minutes before she stated to stir under his touch. 

"Mmm." She purred, a smile grew on her face. Jughead pulled his hand from underneath her t shirt to brush away the hair that had fallen on her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. Betty leaned into his touch, snuggling into his palm. 

"Morning, gorgeous." His voice was husky in the early hour, and it also probably had to do with the way she glowed. Betty opened one eye to look up at his face. 

"Hi." She said shyly. "What time is it?" Jughead glanced at the alarm clock.

"Just past 6." His hand still cupped her cheek, his thumb ran along her cheekbone mindlessly. "How are you feeling? After.." His eyes averted hers for a moment. He felt her smile again under his hand. 

"Jug, I feel amazing." Her hand reached up to rest against his own against her face. "Does it feel fast to you?" Jughead just nodded slightly, a feeling that he would associate with dread slowly crept up on him. "But not _too_ fast, right?" And just as quickly that feeling was gone. He caught her gaze again.

"It felt right, to me." He said lowly. 

"Me too." Her eyes were so bright, and the way she was looking at him made his heart dance in his chest. This was all foreign to him, to actually feel something? This was a new concept. And it scared the shit out of him. "I should probably.." She nodded towards the door.

"You're safe for a little bit." He smirked. "I messed the bed up, so it doesn't look so suspicious." Another brilliant smile passed over Betty's face.

"You're not just a pretty face, are you Jones?" 

"So I've been told." He laughed. Betty shuffled further to the other side of the bed and pulled the covers back. She gestured with a nod of her head. And who was he to object to a pretty girl inviting him back into his own bed? Once he was snuggled in once again, Betty reached her fingers out slowly to caress the graze on his cheek, his darkened eye. 

"It doesn't look so bad, in the morning light." Her voice was so soft and her face so close to his he could feel her breath against his cheek.

"Neither do you." He smirked, earning a blush from Bettys cheek as she ducked her head.

They lay there, with her head tucked into his chest, their legs so entwined nobody knew whose was whose, for hours. They talked about films, books, parents, sisters, school. Jughead learnt a lot about Betty in those few hours. Like how she much she loved rain, that she preferred vanilla to chocolate and the way her eyes lit up when she spoke about Polly. Like how much he enjoyed the way his name sounded on her tongue. He stole kisses from her all morning, as many as he could. He'd never wanted to just be _close_ to someone like this before. But then it hit 9 o'clock and they heard Gladys' car pull into the driveway, and as Betty tried to climb from his bed, he wrapped his arms tight around her waist from behind and held her prisoner with his head pressed to her back. 

"Juggie!' She whispered a yell, giggling into his ear. "I gotta go." 

"Meet me later?" He asked with his lips against her shoulder. He felt her ease into his hold as she turned to face him. 

"Okay. Text me." She placed her lips softly to his own, and when his grip had loosened she wriggled free and got up from his bed. She stopped at the door and turned to get a last glance at him. She gave him a smile, and he hoped that was enough to last until he could see her again later. Then she was gone, the door closed again. He sat up against the wall, just staring at where she had been a moment ago. Was it possible to miss someones presence that instantly? She was only in the other room, he thought. Get a hold of yourself. 

He lay back in his bed with a smile, he could still smell her in his sheets. 

-//-

The sunlight pouring in between the gap in the curtain told Jughead he had fallen back to sleep. As did the clock, that read 11.42pm. He threw back the covers, realising he still had on his sweats from his early morning mission so he pulled on a t shirt and headed to the stairs. He peeped into the guest room and saw that the bed was made and Bettys things were gone, so she must have left already. Jellybeans voice met him at the bottom of the stairs, it was silent for a moment and then she spoke again so he figured she was on the phone.

"I know right?" Jellybean eyed Jughead as he made his way into the kitchen. He looked around into the lounge and mouthed to his sister,

_'Where's Mom?'_

Jellybean mouthed back _'Supermarket'_ before continuing on in her own conversation. "I told you, that's what she does Ellie!" The look on her face did not match the tone of her voice, and Jughead felt a sweep of pride at how uninterested his sister was in gossip. She narrowed her eyes at him then, and he felt last nights guilt all over again. He put his palms together and attempted to take on a puppy eyed look. 

_'I'm sorry'_ He mouthed silently. 

"Yeah, well, she's a knob anyway." She answered through the line but still had her attention on her brother. She picked up an apple from the fruit bowl in front her her and lobbed it at Jughead. He caught it, smugly, and she turned to face away from him. He moved to stand in front of her again. 

"Ellie, I gott-" She broke off in a light laugh as Jughead took her free hand between his own, and got down on his knees to beg. "It's Jughead." There was a pause as she rolled her eyes through he phone at her friend. "Don't start that shit again, he's too old for you and he's my brother. It's just wrong." Jugheads brow rose in question. "Oh my god no, no. I'm hanging up now, bye." She dropped the phone in disgust with an exaggerated shudder. Jughead was still knelt in front of her. 

"What was that about?" He asked, amused. 

"Just Ellie and her weird obsession with you." She shuddered again. "Don't worry, I'll tell her you've got a girlfriend now." There was a smirk on her face that could rival one of his own, but before he could protest Jellybean shook her hand that was still clasped between his own. "You gonna stay down there all day?" 

"Jellybean, my dearest, most favourite Sister-"

"Only Sister" She interrupted, tilting her head. He rolled his eyes before continuing. 

"Even so, I could never have asked for a better one. Please, will you forgive your jerk off of a brother, for being a total knob and betraying your trust?" His eyes were trained on her face, and his voice dropped as he got serious. "JB, honestly kid, I'm so sorry. I've been kicking myself all night. Truly, I mean it." Jellybean took him in for a moment, as if she were considering her options. "And as recompense, you can tell Betty my real name. Hell, tell anyone you want ever if it'll help you forgive me." She sighed. 

"Get up, loser." She yanked on his hand and pulled him up with her. She only came to just the middle of his chest, but the girl had some strength. Jellybean wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. Jughead smiled and wrapped his own around her shoulders, resting his face against the top of her head. "I forgive you, Jug. I know how you get, I was just worried about you." He squeezed his sister a little tighter and placed a kiss to the top of her head. 

"I know, I know. You're always looking out for me. Who's the real kid here, huh?" He felt her laugh against him. 

"And for the record," She pulled away and leaned her head back to look up at him, "I'm not going to tell Betty, Forsythe. That's your cross to bear, kid." She mocked, a smug smile on her face. He laughed, ruffling her hair. 

"You're the best, Jelly." He let go of her and headed to the fridge, reaching in for the milk carton. He was screwing off the lid as Jellybean spoke again. 

"Oh, by the way Jug?" Jellybean asked. She was stood in the doorway, her arms folded with a small smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth. 

"Mm?" He took a swig from the carton as she asked. 

"Can you ask Betty to be quiet next time? Be considerate of the minor in the next room." She deadpanned. Jughead didn't even have a chance to swallow his mouthful before he spat it all over the kitchen bench. He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes wide with shock.

"Wh-What are you.. You didn't.. JB, how do you even know what you heard? Which was nothing by the way, I have no idea what you are talking about." 

"Oh, please. I've seen _Girls_." And then she was gone, her long hair swaying behind her through the door way. Jughead stood there for a moment, not really sure what he should do now. His sister had heard them, and he was horrified. He was still stood with the carton of milk open in his hand as Gladys came in through the door, dumping groceries on the island. 

"For god sakes, Jughead. How many times have I told you not to drink straight from the carton? Use a glass."

When there was no retort from him as she expected called out to him. "Jughead?" He shook his head from the daze and looked towards his Mother. 

"Sorry, I uh.." He screwed the lid back into the milk carton and hastily shoved it back in the fridge. He grabbed some paper towels and haphazardly wiped up the mess he had made, before murmuring something about a shower and leaving the kitchen. 

"Some help would have been nice!" She called out to him, sighing defeatedly. 

-//-

"Dude, you should have heard Frankie. He went nuts." It was later in the day, the sun sat low in the sky. Jughead was hanging out with Joaquin in his garage, just like they used too. They were spread out on shabby couch. Joaquin was recounting what went down when he got back to the Wyrm the night before. "He was pissed you weren't there, Jug." He snorted. 

"Of course he was." His hands were in his pockets, fiddling with his phone. "It was no biggie. They were kids, prospects. I doubt they'll be getting patched now. Plus, we handled it." 

"Yeah, well.." Joaquin paused, avoiding Jugheads gaze. "Frankie wants retaliation." 

"What?" Jughead asked angrily. Retaliation only ever made things worse. If that was the case, he would not be having any part. 

"And he wants us to act it out, Jug." Joaquin said is so lowly Jughead had almost missed it, almost. 

"Fuck off, no. No way." He stood up then and started to pace the length of the garage. "What did Vipe say?" 

"He said absolutely not, obviously." Joaquin watched him pacing. "I know he's the pres, Jug, but sometimes Frankie gets in his ear and -" 

"No, not about this." Jughead interrupted. "Vipe wouldn't have forgotten what happened last time." He caught Joaquins eyes with is own, speaking without words. 

"Come on, man. The only reason FP got in the shit was because your Mom testified against him, Jug." He gave Joaquin a warning look. 

"You think I've forgotten?" He snapped, instantly regretting it. "Whatever, we're not fucking doing it. It was only a weed sale, for god sake. Frankie can get fucked for all I care." 

"Well, now, what am I missing here?" Cheryl's voice broke the tension as she leaned in the doorway, one of her perfectly groomed brows raised in a question. "Because that mental image is not pretty." Jughead jumped. 

"Jesus, Cheryl. You scared me half to death" Jughead exclaimed, his hand on his chest. 

"Only half?" She pouted. "A shame." Her heeled boots clipped against the concrete floor as she made her way into the garage. "Don't worry, Daddy won't let there be any retaliation." 

"I wouldn't put it past Frankie to just do shit on his own. You know that Gaz and Jord-" Cheryl cut Joaquin off with a sharp, red tipped finger in midair. 

"Only if he wants his head cut off." She eyed him suspiciously. "Have you told Jughead yet?" Joaquin looked towards his feet, he shuffled them together awkwardly. 

"Told me what?" Jughead snapped, his gaze trained on Joaquin. Cheryl broke the momentary silence. 

"Our little Jared Leto here passed his initiation, he's officially a patched Serpent." There was a slight hint of pride in her voice, her head tilted as she turned to face Jughead. He, on the other hand, was less happy about it. 

"When?" He asked, monotoned. Joaquin finally looked up at Jughead. 

"Last night, after I got back. Viper was pleased with the way I, we dealt with it, and it's coming up a year since I started prospecting." 

"Good for you, man." Jughead tried to sound sincere, but he knew his words fell flat. "So, when you getting your tatt then?" The double headed serpent tattoo would be the nail in the coffin. As soon as the ink pierced Joaquins skin, he would be lost to Jughead and belong to the gang. Officially. He always thought of Joaquin like the brother he never had, he was his best friend. But he wanted into the Serpents in every way that Jughead did not. 

For Joaquin, the Serpents were a choice. 

"Wednesday, after school." He looked up at Jughead again, hope in his eyes. "You gonna come watch, Jug?" 

"Of course he is." Cheryl answered for him, something she's rather good at. She already has her tattoo. It's discreet, she opted for a more dainty shape on her left side rib cage. When she's wearing tops that fit loose, sometimes you could see it, rearing its ugly head against her pale skin. "We could finally book you in for yours at the same time, FP JR." Cheryl was baiting him, and he knew it. How had the day started out so perfectly and turned to such shit? 

"Fuck off, Red." He snapped. There was no chance in hell Jughead was letting anyone near him with a needle if that was the end result. This wouldn't be his life, therefore he would not mark it permanetly to his being. He grabbed for his leather that was swung over the back of the couch, he had planned on leaving soon anyway but the Junior comment had pissed him off more than he realised. "I'm out." 

"Jones, wait." Cheryl had followed him outside, much to his distaste. He ignored her anyway, throwing a leg over his bike. "What happened last night then? With you and Doris Day?" 

"Her name is Betty. And, how the fuck did you know about that?" He racked his brain for a moment, trying to recall if he'd told her. He was certain he hadn't. Cheryl just dismissed his comment with a wave of her arm. 

"Oh Jug, my sweet innocent Jug." She laughed humourlessly, shaking her head. "Daddy has eyes on all of you, everywhere." 

"Jesus christ." He muttered, running his hand down his face. He spoke through his fingers. "That's fucked up, Cher." 

"I know." But her voice was too light for her to of meant it. She crossed her arms. "Tell me." 

"Hell. No." He sounded out the words for added impact. Cheryl rolled her eyes. 

"Whatever, you're no fun." She went to walk back inside, but turned to face Jughead again before be pulled his helmet over his head, her hair nearly flicked him in the face. She lowered her voice. "Be careful, Jughead. I know you actually like this one. But, if she gets too close, there'll be eyes on her too." This time she meant it. Jughead pulled his helmet on, but made no attempt to start his bike. 

Fuck. 

He should have known, no good can come from this. From anything. Not for him. He doesn't get good, he doesn't deserve good. He scrunched his eyes tight as it all fell on him, as he thought about how stupid he had been. Betty was worth more than him, more than this, and besides, he was leaving. He'd made a vow nothing would stop him. 

Not even those deep sea eyes of hers, or those soft lips that he could swear had been moulded to fit with his. That laugh that rung in his ears. 

_Fuck._

-\\\\- 

"I'm sorry I couldn't come meet you, Jug. It's just, my Mum was kind of on my case all afternoon." Life had handed him one tiny blessing in the disguise of Alice Cooper. She was in over-bearing Mother mode today, which meant Betty wasn't able to meet him. He was now laying on his bed in the dark, staring at the ceiling. 

"It's okay, Coop. I get it." She had text ahead to let him know, and he couldn't deny the relief that flooded his veins. After his afternoon revelation he wasn't sure he could see her beautiful face and let her down. He was always letting people down. 

"Somedays I wish I could just leave, you know?" She sounded wistful. He wished she wouldn't. 

"Makes two of us." 

"Actually, my sister.. she put this crazy idea in my head that I could go to London for a year or two. Get away from small town living, thinking, give myself a break from my parents." She paused for a moment, and Jughead waited for her to carry on. He was looking for the perfect place to cut in. "At first I thought she was kind of crazy but, if I'm honest, now I can't stop thinking about it." 

He thought back to what Cheryl had said earlier, and he knew the underlying message in her warning. This wouldn't work. They were too different, she was all light. She would be doused in his dark. 

"Maybe you should." His voice held no tone. 

"Oh. I mean, it's kind of expensi-" 

"You've got that rich friend right? What was it, Victoria?" He knew it wasn't, of course he knew. He remembered every word she ever spoke. Right now he hated that. 

"Veronica." As Betty corrected him her voice wavered. 

"Right, can't you just ask her to borrow money?" 

"Jug, it's just an idea. I haven't even finished school yet." She laughed but it held no weight. 

"Graduation is only a few weeks away." He was pushing. 

"I know but.. Jughead, whats going on? Are you okay?" She could obviously sense his standoffish behaviour, but he was doing this on purpose. He was giving her an out before it got too far. Even though deep down he knew, somehow, already, he was too far gone and that this was going to hurt. God, would it hurt. 

"I'm trying to leave too, Betty. I'm hoping to get a scholarship for Washington College." 

"That's great." She sounded genuine, he knew she was. That's why he felt like a prize winning asshole when he took a deep breath and spoke. 

Here it goes, the shove. 

"So yeah, this, whatever this is. It's not gonna stop me leaving." He said it so harshly it burned his own ears. Betty was shocked silent for a minute. 

"I would never expect that. Woah, Jug, do you know me at all?" He could hear the hurt in her voice, and he wanted to take it back already. He yearned to swallow his words back again. But instead he closed his eyes tight and pushed some more. 

"Maybe it's better to stop it before it starts. I mean, who finds something real at 17 right?" 

"Before it starts? Isn't it too late for that?" Her voice trailed off, and as much as he knew he was hurting her he didn't want her to think he just used her for a quick fix. 

"Betty, last night, it was amazing. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I just think it's for the best." 

Silence. 

And then she emits and empty laugh. 

"I know what this is, Jughead. But whatever, if it makes your little black heart feel better then fine. Gotta keep up appearances right? Laters." And then she was gone. The disconnected tone echoed through his whole head. 

Betty sure as hell wasn't :an idiot, and he sure as hell was. But this is what happens to him, even though this is of no fault but his own. He's not allowed to have anything for himself, and sure as hell not the pure soul of Betty Cooper. He would tarnish her. Nothing good was allowed to happen to him, not in this god forsaken town. 

He made a mental note to avoid the house on school nights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... sorry? It'll all come out in the wash guys, I promise. (I think)
> 
> Let me know your thoughts in the comments! X


	7. Can't Stay Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, sorry for the wait my loves. Edited myself so excuse mistakes. 
> 
> Also, side note, the time I've set in this fic doesn't match up accurately with the US school terms etc. But, it's fiction after all and this suits it better.
> 
>  
> 
> **

It took exactly two weeks for Jughead to decide to backtrack and apologize to Betty. Over text, of course, his absence on her days at the Jones household hadn't gone unnoticed. It started with a single text last Sunday night.

 **I'm sorry I'm such a douche bag.**

Followed shortly by another;

 **I promise I'll make it up to you. But of course, if you want me to fuck off then just say it. Or, you know, don't say anything at all.**

And so that's what she did. She ignored those original texts, and all the others that followed. He clearly hadn't taken the hint, as he started to text her like he was writing entries into a diary all week. 

**So Jellybean called me a Miscreant today? Did she google that?**

**Did I ever mention how much my English teacher looks like Nicolas Cage? It's uncanny. And distracting.**

**Joaquin has been moaning all day about how itchy his tattoo is. If I murder him will you be my alibi?**

 

They were all just updates, but then Betty had woken up to a text this morning that had her heart racing all day. 

**I wish my pillow still smelt of you. I miss you, Coop.**

 

He'd sent her a few more over the course of the day, but that was the one she found herself going back to read over again. Which is why, on a Thursday night in Pops, Veronica was giving Betty the death stare from hell as she stared at her phone. 

"Elizabeth."

"Sorry, what?" Betty's eyes snapped up from her phone to meet the glare from Veronica sitting opposite her. 

"Where's your head at today, B? You're all over the place." Veronica sounded sincere enough for Betty to feel bad about not confiding in her best friend what had been going on in her life. What was the point anymore, she thought. It was done now. 

"It's nothing, just thinking about finals." She lied. She was doing that a lot lately. Lying to her best friends, her mother. Herself. She missed the bones of Jughead Jones. She wanted nothing more than to text him back and tell him she would forgive him for anything, but she knew she had to be stronger than that. She _was_ stronger than that. 

"Well," Veronica started, "I don't think you of all people have anything to worry about, Miss Valedictorian." Betty rolled her eyes. "Except for the fact that Riverdale's cheap recast of Sons of Anarchy can't stop ogling in this direction." 

"Wha-" Betty's head snapped around to glance over the diner, and there in their usual corner booth the three of them sat. She hadn't officially met Cheryl or Joaquin yet, but she knew enough about them through Jughead. Who, she noticed, was staring right at her. This was the first time she had seen him since that morning she had woke in his bed, and her skin was on fire under his gaze. She quickly turned back to face Veronica, who was now giving her a glare to battle the previous. 

"B, what am I missing here?" Veronica's eyes were switching between Betty and the group in the corner. "That dark haired Teller wannabe is burning a hole in the back of your head. Did something -" She lowered her voice and leaned in closer to Betty across the table "Did something happen? What are you not telling me?" Betty could not muster up the energy to explain it all, so instead she took the easy way out. 

"I'll explain, I promise. I just, I have to go home. Now." Mustering up the best version of an apology on her face as she could manage, she made to leave the booth. Veronica reached out to grab at Betty's wrist as she stood. 

"Hey, you know I'll be here when you're ready to tell me. Be safe, okay?" Veronica squeezed her wrist, and Betty managed a small smile before she raced quickly from the diner without a backwards glance. This reaction was not something she had been expecting, she thought she could handle seeing his stupid face again by now. Obviously she wasn't as strong as she had thought, but as she heard the bell on the door and a distant call of her name, she knew she wasn't about to let Jughead in on that fact. 

"Betty, wait, please." She stopped walking, but made no move to face him. She crossed her arms last minute for dramatic affect just as he came to face her. He stood there for a moment, his hands awkwardly in his pockets, his beanie hanging further back from his head from running after her. Her fingers twitched to reach out and straighten it for him, but she knew she shouldn't. Couldn't. 

"Can I help you, Forsythe?" It was a low blow, and she knew it, but she was so mad at him it just slipped out. It was too late to take it back now. It wasn't hard to figure out what his name really was once he had let Jellybeans slip. And in her defence, JB had exacted no revenge so Betty would do it for her. He winced visibly and for a split second Betty felt her heart twist in her chest. 

"Okay, I deserve that." She just shrugged at him. "Betty, I am so sorry. Please, you have to believe me. I never meant to hurt you." She just continued to stare him down, her resolve wasn't going to break that easily, no matter how gorgeous his eyes look when he's pleading. "At least let me give you a ride home. I've got the truck, no need to straddle my bike." He laughed lightly, trying to ease the tension. 

"No, thank you. I need the walk." As she went to walk past him Jughead reached for her elbow, pulling her arms apart and grasping for her hands. "Betty, it's dark. I care so much about you, I don't want you walking home alone. Please." There was a moment, where Jughead was looking at her like he meant all the words he had said, that she almost took him up on it. 

"You don't care, Jughead." She yanked her hand from his grasp "And neither do I, about what you think you have to say now. You've said enough already." And then she stormed away from him with such purpose that her ankles ached by the time she took the steps to her front door. She had let the tears fall all the way home, but wiped away the black mascara tracks with the sleeve of her white cardigan, tugging the sleeves over her hands to hide the evidence before she stepped over the threshold. There was no need for Alice to see her in such a state, it would just probe questions that Betty had no energy to answer. So she plastered on that Stepford smile she had mastered over the years, and bid her parents goodnight. 

 

-//-

Betty tried to fight the disappointment she felt the next day at the lack of texts from Jughead. He had sent one again last night, yet again saying sorry, which she ignored. But now, as she sat in the passenger seat of her Dads car on the way to Southside, she felt like she could learn to let it go. If she could just be friends with Jughead it would make the next few weeks of her life before graduation a lot easier. There was a lump in her throat as she walked the path to the front door and let herself in, she knew Jughead wouldn't be around, so she had time to build up some courage to finally text him back. She would tell him that she understood as best as she could, and despite her best efforts, she really did want to remain friends with him. She could do this. 

That was, of course, until she saw him perched on the kitchen bench with his hand wrist deep in a bag of Doritos. So very Jughead-like, and she knew in that moment she was too far gone. It was obvious in the way she forgot to breathe when he looked up at her with those eyes, in the way she felt her heart beat so fast it almost stopped. 

"Hi." He smiled sadly at her, the corners of his mouth not putting in any effort to rise. "I -"

"Where's JB?" There was no way she was talking to him, not right now. Not when all she could think about was the million other places his hands would be better suited than in a bag of fucking Doritos, damnit. He nodded his head in the direction of the lounge. Betty could feel his eyes trained on her as she crossed the kitchen. He dropped down from the bench and wiped his hands on his jeans, to which Betty tried not to roll her eyes at. 

"Betty, I'm not going to push it. But, can we talk? When you're ready? Please. I'd really like for us to still be friends." His voice was soft, and Betty couldn't help but scoff at him. He raised his brow in question, to which Betty sighed and felt the tension in her shoulders lessen. She tried to ignore the nagging voice on the back of her head that screamed 'I told you so', and the growing ache in her chest from his dismissal at whatever it was they could have been. Why did she have to fall so hard for this guy, she asked herself. It was almost as if it were out of her control, and that wasn't something Betty handled well. 

"Jughead, listen-"

"Hey, B." Jellybean interrupted as she walked into the room she pulled on her coat, her gaze flicking between Betty and her brother. "Wanna go for a walk?"

"A walk?" There was a tone of surprise in Betty's voice as she looked at her, as if JB knew she might need an escape route. It was the middle of October now, and it was really starting to get cold outside, but Betty would take it. 

"Yeah." JB shrugged. "I've been cramming for this stupid test all week, and I could use a break." 

"Uh, yeah, sure." Betty looked at Jughead, the annoyance with his sister was evident on his face. Jellybean just seemed to ignore it.

"Cool." She turned and smiled at her brother. "See ya, Jug." Then her arm was laced through Betty's and they were out the door. Betty waited until they were down the street and around the corner before she asked. 

"You okay, Jelly?" Betty didn't want to presume that this was for her own benefit, or if Jellybean even knew anything of what had happened. 

"I don't pretend to know anything that goes in that stupid brother of mines head. And I am not about to start now, but I've never seen him mope so much before," She sighed before continuing, and Betty wondered if she felt like she was betraying her brother by telling her this, "And you know Jug, he's a professional moper." They both shared a laugh as they walked slowly down the street, in no direction whatsoever. Betty felt JB squeeze her arm. "And as well as you hide it, I know something is up with you too, Betty. So I'm not going to pretend like I didn't hear you in my brothers bed all those weeks ago-"

"Oh, my god." Betty blurted, stopping dead in her tracks. She could feel her cheeks turning pink, and not just from the cold. "Jb, I'm -, I don't -"

"Please, Betty." Jellybean waved her free arm through the air, tugging Betty back along. "I'm not a child. But anyway, as I was saying," She carried on as if she hadn't just dropped that shameful bomb on Betty, "I thought you guys might be, you know, _together_ after that, and then all of a sudden nada, nothing. What the hell happened?" 

"That's a question for Jug." Betty replied, glancing sideways at Jellybean and wondering if she had been like this when she was 14. She doubted it. Jellybean seemed a lot more grown up than her physical age would suggest, and it made Betty a little sad. 

"Yeah, well, I know he loves to loathe himself. But this, this is different. This isn't like him." Jellybean sounded thoughtful, as if she were only just now realizing that something was different about him.

"It isn't?" Betty inwardly groaned at sounding so pathetic. Jellybean shook her head lightly. 

"I love my brother, Betty. I hate to see him so sad all the time." Now it was her turn to stop walking as she turned to face Betty with a worried look on her face. "Not that, not that I'm blaming you. I know it's probably all his stupid fault." 

"I know, I remember how it felt to see Polly so down all the time." Betty sighed, feeling weighted down just at the thought of her sister. But there was another feeling, something else that, if you looked close enough, could resemble hope. Jughead was obviously genuinely feeling bad about it all, and Betty knew that hope was in the idea that maybe he did actually like her. "I just, I kind of don't really know what to do from here."

"Just, talk to him." Jellybean said softly, smiling up at Betty. They both started down the street again. 

"God, look at me getting advice from a 14 year old." Betty laughed. "And from the guy in question's little sister, of all people."

"You're like my sister, too, B." Jellybean shot her a smile that warmed Betty's heart. "And hey," Jellybean tugged on her arm playfully, "Maybe one day you will be for real."

"Okay, JB, let's not jump the gun here." Betty replied, but there was laugh in her tone. "So, I know you wanted an excuse to get me out of the house, but I know you actually do have a test coming up. Let me do my tutor duties and ask how you're feeling about it?" 

Jellybean told her she was feeling pretty confident about the test next week, thanking Betty on her advice about flash cards for studying. The girls walked around a few more blocks, talking about everything and nothing. It was nice, Betty thought, even though Gladys wouldn't be pleased to know there was no actual learning going on. But it was Friday after all. After a while they decided to turn and head back, and as Jellybean turned them down a street she reassured was a short cut, Betty noticed them straight away. Standing outside the garage of one of the houses on the street was Cheryl and Joaquin. Both of them stood out, Cheryl's hair in such a contrast to the leather on her shoulders as she lent against her bike. Joaquin looked up, and a smile grew on his face as he noticed them. 

"Jelly!" He called out, ushering them over with a wave of his hand. Betty hesitated for a moment, but Jellybean pulled her along with her. She hadn't properly met either of Jugheads best friends yet. Betty felt the nerves creep up as JB let her go and hugged Joaquin. She tugged her cardigan sleeves down over her hands, her nervous tick. She had learnt the material would stop her nails from digging into the silver scars that littered her palms. 

"Hey, kid." Cheryl just smiled at JB, and Betty figured she wasn't much of a huger, thinking back to the implications Jughead had made when he told her about them. Betty had been so lost in that thought for a moment she hadn't noticed the red heads gaze on her. Cheryl looked her up and down, taking her in as if she hadn't seen her numerous times before at Pops. Betty wouldn't lie, it was slightly intimidating being this close to her. "So, Betty, right?"

"Shit, sorry Betty. This is Joaquin," He gave Betty a little wave, "And this is Cheryl." Jellybean smiled at her. "And this is Betty Cooper, my tutor. Kind of." She laughed. Betty waved at the other two, an awkward smile on her face. 

"And Jughead's girlfriend, right?" Cheryl asked disinterestedly as she looked for dirt under her nails. 

"Uh, no-, not his girlfriend." Betty stumbled over her own words due to the bluntness of the question. She was shocked they had any idea who she was at all.

"Ignore her, Betty." Joaquin cut in, and the smile he gave her made Betty feel more comfortable in the situation. He seemed so genuine just in his facial gestures that Betty could already see the traits that Jughead had mentioned in him. "Jug keeps us in the dark anyway. But it's nice to meet you." 

"You too." She mustered up her warmest smile to return to him. "He's told me a lot about you." There was no point in acting like he hadn't at this stage, they obviously knew about her. Or at least had an idea.

"All bad, I hope." Cheryl said sharply, tilting her head and smiling at Betty in a way that made her feel exposed. 

"Some of it." Betty retorted. Cheryl seemed to like the way she snapped back, as she pushed herself off of her bike with a smirk and reached her hand out. Betty raised her brow at Cheryl, who let out a quiet tut. 

"Your phone." Betty wasn't really sure what she was asking exactly, but she slowly reached for her phone in her pocket and handed it over. Cheryl typed away at the screen and Betty wondered to herself how you could even type with nails that length. "I'm having a party, tonight. I put my number in your phone and sent a text to myself. I'm going to send you the deats." Cheryl handed back Betty's phone, her eyes lingering on the photo of Polly and herself she had in her background. 

"Oh, thanks. I don't think I'll be able to make it, but-" Betty was rushing through her words, surprised that Cheryl had just invited her to a party. 

"Whatever, your call." Cheryl replied nonchalantly as she threw her leg over her bike. "Joaquin, don't be late. You have to help me set up." She gave one last curious glance towards Betty, nodded at Jellybean, then started her bike and drove out of the street. 

"I promise, that's an act." Joaquin joked as they all watched her retreating form. "But, the offer is there if you want to come tonight. I could introduce you to some more of Jug's friends." Betty turned to look at him, the question of whether Jughead himself would actually be making an appearance on the tip of her tongue. But she swallowed it back, the last thing she wanted to do was come off desperate to his friends. 

"Thanks, Joaquin." Betty replied. 

They spoke with him for a little while longer before they headed back to the house. It was funny, Betty thought, how different her first impressions were of Jugheads best friends. But as she walked she decided she really liked Joaquin, he just seemed genuinely nice and she found herself asking why someone like him would end up in the Serpents voluntarily. Maybe there were things yet to learn, maybe she could learn them if she went to Cheryl's party tonight. She'd also decided on that walk back that she wanted to speak to Jughead, the least she could do would be to hear him out. 

But he wasn't at the house when they got back, and she never got to see him again before she headed home. So she thought _'fuck it'._ She would go to the party tonight, if only to get Jughead on his own and hear what he had to say with no interruptions.

-//-

 

As Betty walked up the drive to Thorn Hill, she tried to ignore the guilt of lying to her parents that lined her gut. She knew she could count on Veronica, so she had rung her and begged her to cover for her if the circumstance came up. 

"Of course, but you have to tell me what is going on soon, B. Promise?" 

And she would tell her, as soon as she had the answers. The answers she was going to get out of Jughead tonight. As she stood at the front door, Betty took a deep breath and smoothed her skirt. It was black, and fell mid thigh with faux buttons up the front. She had paired it with a dusky pink long sleeve crop that brushed just above the hem of her skirt. The cardigan was left at home in favor of a lightweight jacket. The nerves were undeniable, and as she stood there, she wasn't really sure whether to knock or just walk on in. She could hear the music booming out through the house, and suddenly felt like a fish out of water. But before she could turn and run, the door opened and there stood Cheryl, adorned in a ruby-red off the shoulder dress that left nothing at all to the imagination. Betty heard herself swallow. 

"Betty, I thought that was you on the camera." Cheryl smirked, opening the door wider, letting out a laugh at the questioning look on Betty's face. "Oh come on, you think Daddy doesn't want to know who's on his property at all times?" Betty didn't really have an answer, but she presumed one. As soon she she stepped foot in the house, Cheryl ushered her into the kitchen and made her some concoction of a drink, and when Betty tried it all she could taste was cranberry. Betty was relieved to see she wasn't under dressed, and it was in fact Cheryl who had out done everyone else. But that was probably on purpose, Betty thought to herself. 

"I have to mingle, but I'll be back." Cheryl gave Betty a smile, different from any of the others she had before. It looked sincere. It made her nervous. "I like you, Betty." 

And then she was just a blaze of red hair among a sea of people, and Betty was left to her own devices. She wasn't surprised to see the interior matched the exterior, the snakes that adorned the top of the gates were scattered around the house; wound around the banister of the stairs, serpent heads wrapped in thorns. It gave Betty the chills. And as she took in all the leather jackets, she suddenly felt that she stood out more without one dressing her own shoulders. That was a new concept to a girl from the North side, where usually the present of a serpent would be the main attraction. 

But it was her turn now, and she could feel eyes on her from all angles. So she tipped her red solo cup back, surprised they weren't all drinking out of cut crystal, and lead herself back to the drinks stand to pour another. Whatever Cheryl had put in that cup left a burn in her throat, but Betty knew she'd need some dutch courage to find Jughead and speak to him, so she welcomed the unfamiliar buzz that came from liquor. 

"Betty!" She had just finished pouring herself a vodka and cranberry, because as much as she wasn't a drinker she knew enough not to change mixers. Holding back Polly's hair as she threw up the entire content of her stomach into her own bathroom so her parents wouldn't hear was something Betty never wanted to reenact herself. Betty turned to the call of her name, her face lighting up as she saw Joaquin waving in her direction. A familiar face, no matter how new, was comforting. He pulled her into a tight hug as she reached her, and even though it surprised Betty she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed back. "I see our hostess has left the new girl to fend for herself." He laughed, rolling his eyes. "Come, lets introduce you around." There was no time to object before Joaquin grabbed her hand with his own and pulled her through the crowd. 

"Hey, Joaquin," Betty had to practically yell in order for him to hear her, "Is, is Jug here?" 

"No, not yet." He called back over his shoulder, still trying to maneuver them through the growing crowd. He lead them out through the patio doors and pulled her off to one side with the outdoor couches and chairs. He sat back heavily onto one of the couched, yanking Betty down with him. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was a no show, really."

"A no show?" She asked. _Fuck._ This was all for nothing if he wasn't here. Joaquin gave her a sad look, as if she had the words 'I only came for Jughead' tattooed on her forehead.

"It's okay, we can still have fun." He playfully bumped her shoulder with his own. Betty thought for a moment that she should probably leave, but Joaquin was being so nice to her and if she was honest there was a certain thrill being somewhere she probably shouldn't be. So she stayed.

Joaquin introduced her to all the people he thought she should know, and then they played drinking game after drinking game. Betty had a knack for beer pong, and was the obvious winner in Never Have I Ever. That game had taught her some interesting, incriminating things about Joaquin. Betty could well and truly feel the buzz now, and as she stood in one of the downstairs bathrooms she took a good look at herself in the floor length mirror and realized that she was rather drunk at this point. Her lips were stained crimson from all the cranberry, and there was definitely _something_ in her hair. Betty had never been drunk before, but she liked the confidence it gave her. As she watched herself twirling in front of the mirror she thought of Jughead, of how much he would appreciate this skirt and the way it made her legs look. She had worn it with the intention of seeing him, after all. She pulled her phone from her pocket, and when she realized there was no way she could find his number in this state she told Siri;

"Call Jughead." She slumped down against the wall of the bathroom and waited for an answer. She didn't even know what the time was, maybe he was asleep. She couldn't stop the smile that grew on her face at the thought of his bed head, the way he sleeps with his mouth open just a touch. All she wanted was to hear his voice. 

"Betty?" His voice was clear, so he wasn't sleeping. But suddenly Betty was mad at him, how dare he stand her up at this party. Even if he had no idea she would be here. 

"Jughead Jones. I have a bone to pick with you." She was certain she hadn't slurred, but there was concern laced in Jugheads voice and she could hear some rustling in the background, as if he was sitting up. 

"Bet-, Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Where am I!" Her voice came out a lot louder then she intended. "Where are you?" She dragged out the last word. 

"Coop, are you drunk?" She tried to stay mad at him, she really did, but his voice was just making her miss him when she was trying so hard not too. 

"Why don't you like me, Juggie?" She asked, her voice low. "Whats wrong with me?" She heard his heavy sigh. 

"Where are you?" His voice was stern. 

"Why don't you want me? I know I'm not the prettiest girl but I'm decent right?" She knew she sounded pathetic but the liquor induced confidence was fading. 

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever known, Betty. Please tell me where you are." 

"Is it about me?" She continued, ignoring him. "Or is this about you? This self deprecation is an old routine Jug, nobody is buying it anymore. I don't care if you hurt me. I don't care if you don't think you're good enough for me." 

"Betty, please, you're scaring the shit out of me." That much was evident in the way his voice kept breaking. 

"I get to decide. and you are good enough for me." Now that she had started she wasn't sure she could stop. "You're so pretty Jug, I just want to touch you all the time. I want you to touch me again, I think about it every day. God, every night." She closed her eyes and let her mind wander back to that night, his hands on her hips, her thighs. "Do you think about it, Juggie?" 

"Every damn second." His voice was low, and it stirred something deep in Betty. She had never wanted someone this much, ever. 

"Then why did you push me away?" Her voice broke, and there was no stopping the sobs that stuck in her throat from escaping. "I, I'll understand if you only want me for one thing, but please just tell me befo-"

"Fuck, baby, please don't think that for even a moment. I swear, I'll tell you anything you want to know. Just tell me where you are and I'll come pick you up. Are you by yourself?" 

"I like it when you call me baby." She whispered. And just before she could speak again, Joaquin stumbled in through the bathroom door that Betty had obviously forgotten to lock. "Joaquin!" Betty giggled, forgetting for a moment about being sad, and also that Jughead was listening through the phone. 

"Joaquin?" Jughead almost yelled. Betty made a face at the loud noise in her ear. "Fucking hell, are you at Cheryl's party?" Betty heard what she presumed was Jughead putting on his shoes. "I'm going to kill them. Both of them."

"Not Joaquin" Betty laughed as she made a face at the boy on his back, spread across the bathroom floor. "He's my new best friend." 

"Betty, you're the best. If I was straight, I would be giving Jughead a run for his money, let me tell you that." His sentence slurred into nearly one word but Jughead had made it out clear enough through the phone. 

"Put him on the phone, please Betty." She nodded, even though Jughead wouldn't see, and handed the phone to Joaquin. 

"Jug!" Betty couldn't make out what it was that Jughead was saying through the phone, but the faces Joaquin were making told her enough. He didn't even get a chance to speak before Jughead had hung up. 

"Hey!" Betty sulked, reaching for her phone back. "I wasn't finished with him." 

"He's coming to get you." Joaquin muttered as he tried to pull himself up off the floor. "And I'm in big trouble because I didn't tell him." He had managed to get himself in a sitting position, turning to face Betty. 

"Uh oh." She gave him a mock expression of fear, and the two of them burst into laughter. They were still laughing about it some 10 minutes later, when Jughead stormed in through the door, his jaw was taut with anger and as soon as Betty saw him she threw her arms in his direction. 

"Juggie! You came!" Her voice was full of elation, made more obvious by the way she squealed his name. Jughead shot Joaquin a venomous look before getting on his knees next to Betty. He brushed the hair back from her face and gave her a once over, checking that she wasn't hurt in anyway. Betty reached out to run her fingers across his cheek. "I'm okay, Jug. I'm good. Especially now you're here." He gave her a soft smile, so full of affection it made Betty's breath catch. 

"We're not staying, Coop." He said gently. "Come on." He placed one arm under her knees and the other under her arms and hoisted her up with him. Betty let her head fall against his chest. Joaquin stood up and smiled at the two of them. 

"I love you guys." He gushed. 

"Tomorrow. We need to talk." Jughead said sternly, his gaze heavy on Joaquin's face. Joaquin just rolled his eyes and nodded his head.

"Yes, boss." Joaquin replied, waving at Betty as Jughead lead them from the room. They passed Cheryl on the way out, but the look that Jughead threw her said more than any words could, so she didn't approach. Betty was relieved to see the truck, and not the bike, in the drive. Jughead somehow managed to pull open the passenger side door without dropping Betty, and then placed her slowly in the seat. He yanked on the safety belt and pulled it across Betty, clicking it in place. She used the advantage of his close proximity and placed a light kiss on his cheek. 

"You really do care." She whispered against the side of his face. He turned to face her, his gaze flitting between her mouth and her eyes before he placed a hard kiss to her forehead. He shut her door and walked around the truck to climb in the drivers side. He looked at her again as he started the ignition. 

"You okay?" Betty had no words for the way he was looking at her, so she just bit her bottom lip and nodded her head. He turned back to look at the road as he drove away from the house, but Betty kept her head facing his direction, her eyes trained on his face. "I'm guessing you can't go home" He glanced at her with a smirk. 

"Absolutely not" She confirmed with a vigorous head nod, which was not a good idea in her state. She closed her eyes for a moment to stop the world from spinning around her. 

"Coop?" Jughead spoke softly. Betty opened a single eye to look at him. "I want-, I would like to take you somewhere. If that's okay?" Betty heard the uncertainly in his voice and noticed his hands gripped the steering wheel nervously. She sat up in her seat and turned to face him properly.

"I'll go anywhere you take me." She said. Jughead smiled at her again, reaching his hand out to grab her own tightly. "And I mean literally, you're driving." That earned her a light laugh from Jughead. He held onto her hand the whole drive, not that they were in the car for every long. Granted that Betty didn't know this Southside of Riverdale all that well, but as they passed a sign that read _'Sunnyside'_ , she knew a trailer park when she saw one. 

"Jug?" She asked curiously as he pulled onto a patch of gravel in front of a trailer. From what Betty could see, is was vacant. She turned back to look at Jughead. He was just watching her, a look on his face that Betty couldn't make out. Was he nervous? Anxious? "Why are we here?" 

"This is where I grew up." He said lowly, not taking his eyes away from Betty. "Before my Dad got locked up and my Mum got lucky, this was my story." He swallowed visibly and Betty wanted to reach for him, but held off. "If you want to know me, Betty, then this is a good place to start." She didn't have time to reply before he was outside her side of the car, opening the door and helping her down. She wasn't too steady on her feet, and she had almost forgotten that she was still intoxicated. Jughead took her hand and lead her to the front door. He lifted a decorative gnome that revealed a key. Jughead must have noticed the look on her face. "Don't worry, Betty. Everyone's pretty trust worthy around here, as ironic as it seems." He informed her as he unlocked the front door and stepped inside, flicking on the lights. "Plus, there's nothing in here to take anyway" He breathed a humorless laugh as he lead her in to the trailer. 

It was sparse, save for a shabby couch and a single arm chair. There was an old TV set up with a DVD player, and behind her was a dining room table with two chairs. She could see into the kitchen from where she stood, and that too only had a few glasses and a single plate in the sink. Jughead pulled Betty to the couch and sat her down. 

"This is where I come when I need some time to myself. Which, is a lot lately. Sit here, I'll get you some water." He said, giving her a small smile before walking into the kitchen. Betty ran her fingers along the old material of the couch, and then let her eyes wander around the room. She couldn't picture Gladys here, in a trailer. But then she guessed she didn't really know her at all. Jughead came back and handed Betty a glass of water and sat beside her, his own eyes glancing around the room. Both of their gazes fell on some empty take out containers from Pops that were on the floor in front of the TV. "Shit, sorry. I never bring anyone here, so I get lazy." 

"You don't?" Betty asked, surprised. He simply nodded at her with a shy look on his face. Betty felt her heart start to race with the thought that he had bought her here, on his own accord. "Why me?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Jugheads gaze fell to her mouth briefly before trailing back to her eyes. He closed his eyes for a silent moment, and took in a deep breath before opening them again and reaching for Betty's hands. 

"I don't even know, Betty. But for some reason I just can't stay away from you." He shrugged, grasping her hands tightly between his own. "So if I'm going to subject you to my terrible company, you deserve to understand why I am the way I am." 

Betty gave him an encouraging smile and squeezed his hands. She had a few questions, but he brought her here, so this was on his terms. She wished more than anything that she hadn't been drinking tonight, she didn't want the liquor to haze her judgement or put Jughead off of telling her things. Although, she already felt much more sober just from being around him. 

"Okay, Juggie. Where do you want to start?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop me a line, let me know your thoughts.  
> Come chat over on [Tumblr](https://allskynostars.tumblr.com/) :)


	8. Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, sorry for the wait! also not 100% happy with this update but i've reread it so many times i've gone cross eyed. sorry for any errors! very dialogue heavy. enjoy!

Jughead wasn't all too sure where to start. It must be obvious in the way he glanced around the room, looking for something, _anything_ to prompt him to start talking. Betty placed her hand against his arm gently.

"Jug, you don't have too if you don't feel comfortable," He shook his head lightly and looked at her. 

"No, that's not it, I want to tell you, I want you to know. It's just finding a place to begin." Betty gave him a small smile and began running her thumb lightly against his arm. 

"How about, at the beginning?" She continued to smile up at him, so sincerely, that Jughead suddenly was overwhelmed with the urge to tell her everything. He took in a deep breath, counted to four, and then let it out slowly. He grabbed at Betty's wrist and pulled her hand into his own, linking his fingers through hers. 

"So, you already know that my Dad is locked up. He has been for the last 5 years, and who knows for how much longer." Betty squeezed his hand tightly, encouraging him to continue. 

"The Police, they knew all about him. And they had been itching to take down a snake for years, it didn't matter much which one they ended up with," Jughead spoke lowly, his eyes trained on Betty's hand in his own. "They threw it all at him, Betty. Drug charges, and not just weed. Firearms charges for all their illegal weapon dealing. Accessory to murder," he heard Betty's sharp intake of breath, so quickly shook his head, "That was all bullshit, Betty. I promise. But -" his voice broke, because he was about to tell the worst part of this story. Of his life. "When they had him, my Mum, she.." He took in another sharp breath and squeezed his eyes shut, "God it's so fucked up. She was supposed to be his alibi. He was home, that night. I remember because it didn't happen a lot. But Gladys, she.."

"But she lied." Betty finished for him, her voice hard. He could feel her gaze heavy on his face but he kept his on their joined hands. It was easier for him to get it all out if he didn't look at her, worried his resolve may break if he looked into her eyes. Jughead nodded slowly. 

"She said she didn't know where he had been that night, and that she couldn't deny whether she thought he had a part, in any of it." 

"Jesus, Jughead, that is messed up. So your Mum -"

"I mean, she didn't physically chuck him behind bars but she may as well have." He shrugged. Betty had started to rub her thumb against the back of his hand, he watched the slow circles she was making. 

"I-I'm so sorry." Betty whispered. 

"So, now you know why I have this fucked up relationship with my mum. She saw a way out and she took it, damn me and Jellybean and the life we had," there was a heavy sadness to his voice, "I honestly think the cops gave her some kind of deal for ratting him out, because as soon as he was behind bars, we were moving out of this trailer. Into that house. Mum got a job at that law firm, she cleaned herself up, and that was it," he swallowed against the lump in his throat, "our old life, everything with any trace of my dad had been thrown out, ripped, burnt." Jughead was fighting against the urge to cry, he tried to blink back the tears he could feel pooling in his eyes. Betty didn't speak, instead she rest her head against his shoulder, still tracing circles into the back of his hand. 

"The worst part is the complete denial. I've seen her, fuck Betty, I had seen her out of her face on god knows what. But she just pushes it aside, she ignores that part of her life like it never even happened. The amount of times I tucked JB into bed while both of them were out, I never knew where. I never asked any questions, not that they could have given me any coherent answers anyway. Jellybean was too young, and thank god she doesn't remember much," And this was when his resolve broke, when he let the tears fall. His little sister, so pure and undeserving of the crappy parents she has been handed. "Or she's mentally blocked it out, whatever it is I'm just eternally grateful she wasn't affected. So now, when mum pushes and fucking pushes her to keep doing better and better I get so mad, because she is already the best of us," His breath hitched around the words, "Even with all this mess, she is still the greatest person I know. She's going to amount to something so great, I can see it. I can feel it. I don't want that pressure her on her, I don't want her to break under it." Jughead wasn't sure when he had started squeezing Betty's hand, but the tips of his fingers were white so he quickly loosened his hold. Her head was still resting in the crook his neck, so he laid his head against hers.

"I understand why she wants to forget, but I can't. She doesn't seem to understand that. How are you supposed to recognize how far you have come without looking back to see? She doesn't acknowledge life before my dad got locked up and it's fucked because that was my whole childhood, and now it's like it's gone. It's like I can't talk about." He's crying even harder now, attempting and failing miserably to steady his breathing. Betty pulled away from him to turn and face him, using her free hand she wiped away the tears on his cheeks as she spoke. 

"You can, Jug. You can talk to me. I wanna know about your Dad, about little Juggie.." She gave him a small smile, and much to his own surprise he found himself returning it.

"I know he did some fucked up things, both of my parents have, but he doesn't deserve to be doing the time for someone else. And he's still my dad, through it all. But what can I do?" He wasn't asking Betty specifically, but the world in general. Speaking out about it all like he just had left him feeling defeated. Betty just squeezed his hand yet again, reassuring him. 

"You can be there for him, Jug. That's what you can do." She said it so sincerely, and even though he knew that answer already, he believed it so much more from her mouth, in her voice. He thought, in that moment, that he would probably believe anything she ever told him, especially if her big green eyes were looking at him like they were now. Like she believed in him. He leaned forward and placed a soft but sure kiss against her forehead.

"Thank you, Betty. For not -, for always being so understanding. You haven't even judged me once, and I just told you some fucked up shit," he let out a breathy laugh, "how does someone like you even exist? Someone this good?"

"I've got my demons too, Jug." She swallowed hard before pulling her hands from Jugheads, his eyes followed her hands as she cupped them open palm up. They were littered with crescent shaped scars. Much to Jugheads relief they were faint and silver, but that didn't stop the tug on his heart. "I do it to myself. It's not healthy, I know. But sometimes it gets so hard it just happens and I -"

"Hey, hey," he clasped her hands in his and pulled her towards him, placing another soft kiss on her forehead, "you don't need to explain anything to me, not if you don't want too just yet," he felt Betty sigh against him. "But from now on, Betty, if you ever feel the urge to hurt yourself again, or if it just gets too much, you call me, okay?" He ducked his head to catch her gaze with his own. "Anytime, anywhere, okay?" 

"Okay." She whispered, looking straight into his eyes. He was overwhelmed with the sudden need to kiss her, but a battle ensued between his hormones and the fact that she had just opened up to him, and he didn't want to take advantage, or make her feel exposed.

Ultimately it was Betty's hormones who won out, as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his before Jughead could take the dive himself. She opened her mouth, her tongue still tasted of the cranberry she had used as a mixer earlier in the night. He still had her hands clasped in his own, so when they broke away he brought them to his mouth and scattered light kisses along the top of her hands. He left his mouth against them as he spoke. 

"I don't really know what this is," he gestured between the two of them with her hands in his, "but, I find myself wanting to know things about you, even the little things. I want to know how your day went, what you had for lunch, what you dreamed about last night. God," Jughead let out a huff of air in frustration, "I've never given a shit about any of that crap with anyone else." 

"Jug -"

"That's how I know, that this is something that I don't want to screw up, Betty." He held her gaze and she nodded lightly before speaking low.

"My day was okay, but got much better about half an hour ago. I had a chicken salad sandwich for lunch," a small smile crept on Jugheads face as he realized what it was she was doing, "and last night, I dreamed about you. I always dream about you." 

He didn't even hesitate this time before pressing his mouth hard against hers, running his tongue along the seam of her closed lips. She opened her mouth to him again as her hands pulled from his and traveled across his chest up to his neck, finding purchase in the hair at the base of his neck. She tugged on it, not lightly, pulling him with her as she lay back against the couch. He settled between her legs, his arms on her sides propping himself up. Betty's legs came to wrap around his waist, all his efforts not to crush her beneath his weight gone to waste as she pulled him flat against her. They lay there like that for what felt like hours to Jughead, making out like the lustful teenagers that they are. He shifted his weight against her, and felt the intake of breath from her mouth as his obvious excitement pressed further against her core. Jughead was about to pull away to make sure she's okay, but before he could even make a start to move she used the leverage she had with her legs around his waist and bucked her hips against him, searching for that friction again. 

The moan she let seep into his mouth told him she found it.

"Betty, -" he tried to speak against her mouth, but she tugged on his bottom lip with her teeth and his attempt at being a gentleman was all but out the window as he moved his hips against hers, again and again. His lips moved from her mouth to her jaw, alternating between kissing and nibbling against her skin. His hand comes to her neck and he tilts her chin back with him thumb. If he was pressing too hard, she wasn't about to let him know. Jughead took advantage of the exposed skin, running his tongue and teeth all along her neck. She let out a grunty moan he hadn't heard from her before as he pulled aside her shirt and sucked a bruise into her collarbone. He pulled her shirt down further again, partly exposing her bra. He kissed the soft skin at the rise of her chest, and ran his fingers feather light along the cup of her bra. His eyes raised to Betty, seeking permission. She looked back at him, her bottom lip between her teeth and her eyes the darkest he'd seen them yet and then she nodded lightly. He pulled against the material of her bra, kissing every inch of skin he was slowly exposing. 

"Juggie, wait," Betty said breathlessly, grabbing at Jugheads face with her hands to tilt his head up at her again. He took his hands away from her chest and pushed himself up and off of Betty, moving to lie on his side tightly beside her on the couch. 

"Sorry, I got carried away -" Betty shook her head.

"No, no. That's not it," she placed a kiss on his mouth, lighter than the ones they had just been sharing. "I want you to touch me, trust me." Jughead can't help but smile at the blush creeping onto Betty's cheeks. He grabbed at her wrists, her hands still on his face. 

"I want to touch you so bad, baby," both of them were breathing heavy, their chests rising in unison, "but all you have to do is say stop, and I'll stop." He placed a light kiss on the tip of her nose.

"What if, what if I don't want you to stop?" Her voice came out husky with want, and he could see the desire storming in her eyes. There's an undeniable twitch in his jeans at her words. His head dropped into her shoulder as he suppressed the urge to rip of her skirt and just take her. But he knows she deserves a better first time than this, she's probably still slightly drunk, and he doesn't want to risk anything with her. He wants it to be special, for her to feel special. Not to lose it on some shabby old couch in some abandoned trailer. He spoke into her shoulder. 

"Betty, I want you like I've never wanted anything ever in my whole life, I swear to you," he raised his head to look into her eyes, "and I kind of can't believe how sensible I am being, especially with the thoughts I have of you running through my mind right now, and with your legs wrapped around me like they are." The blush on her cheeks deepened even more. 

"Why do I sense a but coming," she whispered. Jughead sighed and raised his hand to caress her cheek. 

"I want it to be special, to be everything you deserve," he ran his fingers along her swollen lips, "I don't want there to be a chance that you'll look back and wish it different, or think that I'm taking advantage of your semi drunken state -"

"Jug, I would never think that of you. I promise," she spoke into his fingers, placing light kisses against them inbetween her words. "But thank you for being a gentleman, you're the sweetest." 

"Don't tell anyone, I've got a reputation to uphold," he smirked. Betty shifted beside him on the couch, throwing her leg over his waist again. She ran her hand down Jugheads torso, her fingers slipping underneath the hem of his t shirt. Jughead shuddered as her fingertips trailed up his side. 

"So," she drawled, "can we put aside your good guy act for a few minutes at least?" Jughead swallowed loudly, his mouth suddenly dry as Betty used her nails against his back, pulling him impossibly closer. She lowered her voice and moved her mouth to his ear. "I still want you to touch me." She moved her head back to look him in the eye, her gaze heavy and lidded. Jughead leaned forward, his lips a whisper over hers. 

"Show me where."

Betty took her hand from his skin, and Jughead was instantly distracted from the loss by the way she grabbed his hand and placed it against her bare thigh. In all their moving around, Betty's skirt and ridden dangerously high around her waist. Jugheads eyes were still trained on hers, but he could feel the way she moved her legs, giving him more access. He licked his lips and ran his hand up the inside of her thigh ever so faintly, his fingers barely touching her skin. 

"Please Juggie," it came out strained, as though she was desperate for his touch. And he wasn't one to keep his lady waiting, he thought to himself, as his fingers brushed over her heat. He kept his touch feather light over the material of her panties. The breath that caught in her throat as he moved his fingers beneath the material only encouraged him further as he felt her slick beneath his touch. "Your hands are the best thing that ever happened to me," she purred. Jughead tried to suppress his laugh into her neck. 

"My ego needed stroking today, thanks baby." He felt Betty laugh lightly against him, but when she raised her hips to deepen his fingers she cut herself off with a moan. A moan so guttural it stirred the want in Jughead, as he pushed two fingers into her at once. She bucked against him at the sudden stretch, her hands grasping at his arm. "You good?" He asked, placing barely-there kisses along her jaw. 

"Mhm, don't stop," she begged. He worked his fingers into a rhythm, bringing his thumb into the mix where it mattered most. She quivered beneath his touch, her thighs clenched against his hands. He quickened his speed as he curled his fingers inward, reaching spots that made Betty scream expletives. His thumb worked tirelessly against her clit as she cried out his name. Last time this had happened, his sister had been in the next room so Betty had to keep it down. But not this time. In fact, if anyone was walking past outside right now they would be able to hear his name falling from her lips. It was the most erotic thing he had ever heard, his name mixed in with a moan deep from Betty's throat. He wanted to hear it every day, every night, every damn morning. 

And the way she clenched around his hand as she reached her high, that was something Jughead wanted to feel on the hour, every hour. To be the cause of Betty's undoing, that was something he wanted the crown for. The championship belt of making Betty come would be his. 

"J-Jug, fuck,-" she collapsed back against the couch, completely and utterly spent under his touch. He pulled her skirt back down around her legs and kissed her hard on the mouth. Her hands came up to grasp at his chin and pull him back to her mouth, desperate to kiss him again and again. She spoke against his mouth. "Can we just stay in this trailer, like forever?" 

"I mean, I'll have to go shopping because there is no food and that just won't do," he laughed, kissing her again before continuing, "but I could definitely stay here with you as long as you would have me." 

"In that case," Betty whispered into his mouth, "I wanna get some practice in." Jughead looked at her, confused, as her hands came to grasp at the button of his jeans. 

"Babe, you don't have too," Jughead grabbed at her hands, stilling them from pulling down his zipper. Betty gave him the sweetest little smile as she shook her head and kissed him again. 

"I want too, Jug. Please?" 

"Christ, don't say please with that look on your face. You'll finish me off before you even start," he laughed, only half joking. Betty took that as an encouragement, as her hand slipped into the waist band of his jeans, and then his underwear. "Oh," he gasped at the touch, her hand cold against his length. He watched her face as she ran her fingers along him, sizing him up. Her tongue came out to run along her bottom lip and he felt himself twitch in her hand, a smile forming on Betty's mouth at his reaction to her touch. She used her free hand to pull his jeans down, exposing him fully. Her eyes drifted from his length back to his face, and Jughead was surprised how dark with desire they were.

"I wanna make you feel as good as you make me feel," she cooed as she clasped her hand around his shaft. Jughead shuddered at the feeling of her hand moving him, slowly at first while she found her own rhythm but she quickly found her pace. The feeling was incredible. Sure, this wasn't the first hand job he had ever had, but never had it been from the hand attached to a girl he cared so much about. It surprised him how much of a difference that fact made, it beat anything he had ever felt, tenfold. 

"Betty, you're a natural, oh-" he couldn't finish sentence due to the fact that Betty had quickened her pace. She was twisting and clenching in all the right places, and he knew he wasn't about to last very long. Her thumb brushed along the head, wet with the beginning of his climax. Betty must have found some encouragement in that, or maybe in the way he had moaned her name, as suddenly her mouth was gone from his and she was kneeling on the ground. Jughead didn't have the time to object, not that he would have, let alone prepare himself as she wrapped her mouth around his tip. "Fuck, baby." 

Betty smiled up at him with her eyes as she worked him with both her hand and her mouth, the combination definitely leading to Jughead's quick release. He had no time to warn her as his head fell back, and he felt himself shoot into her throat. If it caught her off guard, she didn't let it show. She pulled his release from him completely, and as she sat back Jughead watched her swallow and wipe the back of her hand against her mouth. 

Jughead just shook his head in disbelief. A look of panic crossed Betty's face. "Oh god, did I do it wrong?" Jughead just laughed and gripped her wrist, pulling her back up to straddle his waist. 

"You did it so unbelievably right, my god." And even after what she had just done, Betty still blushed under his compliments. He ran his hand across her face, trying to commit the shape of her lips, the angle of her jaw to his memory. "You are incredible, Coop." She pressed her lips to his before slipping from his waist to tuck herself into his side. 

"I really like you, Juggie," she said lowly into the night, "just, you know, in case that wasn't clear." Jughead kissed the top her head, smiling. 

"I really like you, Betty." He whispered into her hair. He felt her yawn into his shoulder, so he pulled her with him as he lay back on the couch. She wrapped her arms tight around his waist, her head tucked into the crook of his neck. Jughead caressed the skin that lay exposed between her top and her skirt, tracing lazy shapes. "Just, uh, are you sure you've never done that before? Cause, damn." 

"Shut up," she laughed, swatting at his chest. "I forgot to ask, where's your beanie?"

"Oh," Jughead hadn't even realised he wasn't wearing it. "I must have forgotten it, in my rush to get to you." She placed a kiss to his chest.

"Jughead Jones, trying to fool the world with his bad boy facade."

He could hear the exhaustion in her voice, so he just placed another kiss to the top of her head and let her fall asleep against his chest. He lay there awake for a while, listening to her breathing, watching the rise and fall of her chest. He brushed the hair from her face delicately, so he could watch her eyelids flutter in dream. A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, acknowledging just how gone he really was for this girl. She may not be perfect, but she was perfect for him. 

-//-

Jughead had fallen asleep at some point, and when he woke he could feel his back aching on this stupid old couch. He sighed looking down at Betty, still asleep on his chest. He didn't want to wake her, but the sky was lightening outside and he knew he would have to get her home soon. He raised a hand to her face and ran his thumb across her cheek. 

"Baby, time to wake up," she shifted against him, her nose scrunched up at his touch. Which, Jughead decided, was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. 

"No, not yet." Her voice was thick with sleep.

"I know, I'm sorry. But I gotta get you home." Her eyes opened quickly, her head rose from his chest in a slight panic. 

"Shit, what's the time?" 

"Not quite early enough to panic, don't worry." He was still holding her face in his hand, so she kissed his palm as she let out a breath of relief. Now that she was no longer trapping him to the couch, he rolled out from under her and stood.

"Come on, gorgeous," he held his hand out, helping her up off the couch they had been lying on for one too many hours, "I'll take you home." 

There was a feeling creeping in his chest that he couldn't pinpoint, as he drove Betty home. It still wasn't quite 6am, the town not even awake yet. He could imagine for a moment that it was just the two of them in the whole universe, that there were no parents or gangs that could come between them. Betty's fingers were laced in his own, the warmth from her touch spread throughout his whole being. And as he pulled into her street, parking a few houses down at her request, he realised what that feeling may be. He pulled his hand from hers and turned to face Betty in his seat. 

"We're not gonna screw this up. Okay?" His voice came out choppier than expected, but he wanted to reassure her that he wasn't about to pull the same card as before. This was a new game play.

"Okay." Her smile was brilliant, he wanted to kiss it off her face. Instead, Jughead held put his pinky finger and wiggled it at Betty. She linked her own through his, in a promise. A promise to give this, whatever it may be, a real shot. He put his mouth to his own hand while their pinkys were still laced, Betty did the same. 

And as Jughead watched her walk up the street, then her front steps, she turned to give him a shy wave before she slipped inside, closing the door behind her. He spent the rest of the drive home smiling more than he maybe ever had, he couldn't believe how light he felt. 

Was this what it felt like? To fall in love? If it was, he didn't want to lose the feeling, ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment, come and chat :) 
> 
>  
> 
> [allskynostars.tumblr.com/](https://allskynostars.tumblr.com/)


	9. In The Morning Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait y'all please don't hate me.  
> unbeta'd. 
> 
>  
> 
> -//-

Betty fell back against the front door as it closed behind her, letting her eyes close for a moment. Highlights of the previous night flashed behind her lids, it seemed crazy to her that she had even been at that party. That anything had ever occurred before him. She thought about how honest he had been with her, how much trust he bestowed in her to keep it to herself. And she would, of course, she would never tell a soul anything he had told her. She didn't even want too, this was something just for her to keep. A part of Jughead only she knew. He opened up and laid all of his insecurities at her feet with no guarantee of how she would take it. 

All it had done was confirm to Betty herself exactly how she felt. She was kind of crazy about him. 

Her thoughts began to wonder south, remembering the way he touched her. She could still feel the trail he left, like the stinging after a burn. It was a welcome feeling.

"Ahem." 

Betty's eyes shot open. And in that moment she remembered that she was, in fact, supposed to be at Veronica's right now. Asleep. _Fuck._

"Elizabeth, would you care to enlighten me as to why you are arriving home at such an hour?" Alice asked as she descended the stairs, piercing Betty with a gaze that could kill. She thought for a second about why Alice would even be awake, until she considered the affect of having another daughter who had began to sneak out frequently before one day not coming back would have on a sleeping schedule, she figured old habits die hard. "And dressed like _that_ , none the less." Alice looked Betty up and down, gesturing to her exposed legs with a sharp hand movement. 

"M-, I, I was at Veron-" 

"Don't even try that, do you think I'm stupid? Don't insult me." Alice interrupted, stopping in front of Betty with a stomp of her feet. "I could smell the alcohol on you from the stairs." Alice Cooper had a way of making even the tallest man feel 2 ft tall with just a look, but Betty in all her years had learned to deflect it. Although, one thing she hadn't learned in all her years was how to stand up to either of her parents. Betty ducked her head and attempted to dodge past Alice, making a bolt for the stairs. But as she looked up, her dad was making his way down.

"Betty," Hal spoke softer than Alice did, his voice gentle, "It's not even 6am. Where have you been sweetheart?" Betty could feel the tears welling, her fists tightened in on themselves in frustration. She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to steady herself. She was angry, the embers burned low in her belly at the realisation that her parents were about to ruin possibly the best night of her life. Betty began shaking her head back and forth, willing time to turn back. "Betty, we are your parents. We worry about you." 

"You should know, Elizabeth, not be so stupid," Alice started again, her voice raising with every syllable, "After everything we have been through with your sister, how dare you make us worry for the only daughter we have left. You are a disappointment to both me and your Father. Coming in from god knows where, looking like some little tramp." 

"Excuse me?" Betty's head snapped back fiercely to face her mother, "Polly is not dead, Mum. And I am not whatever it is you think I am. " The tears she had tried to fight were spilling onto her cheeks, her eyelashes felt heavy with the weight of them. But they weren't tears of shame, or sadness, they were hot and angry. "So do not try and guilt trip me about what _she_ did." Alice looked as though Betty had just struck her across the face. 

"Betty, you know she didn't mean it like that. But it's too late for us to deal with Polly, we want to make sure we do this right with you." Hal was trying to calm the situation down, Betty knew that. But she wasn't going to just let this go anymore. 

"Have you considered, then," her eyes flew between both of her parents, "that the problem is with you?" Betty spat the words at her parents, years worth of pent up anger bubbling to the surface, threatening to spill over with every word. "I am _not_ Polly, Polly is not me. Yet here you are again." 

"I will not have another one of my daughters throw her privileges back in my face!" Alice was yelling now, her fists clenched in frustration. Betty wondered for a moment whether that was a family trait. She started to walk towards Betty, a step with every few words. "You will sit your finals, pass with flying colours, go to Northwestern and be grateful about it." Betty let out a humorless laugh.

"Just like you want, the perfect little girl. I'm surprised you'll even let me go to Northwestern. How are you supposed to control my whole life when I'm there, huh, Mother? " Alice had come to stand right in front of Betty with the perfect amount of distance between them, just enough for Alice to connect her flat palm with Betty's cheek. Hard. The slap vibrated through the room. 

"Alice!" Hal called out, shock laced in his tone.

"Oh please, Dad, save it." Betty didn't recognise her own voice as she spoke, nor did she take her eyes off Alice as she rubbed at her stinging cheek. "I bet she's been itching to do that for a while. Polly was never around enough for you to get your hands on her, so I'm guessing that's been on backlog." 

"Go to your room, now. And don't expect to leave this house until we ship you off to Northwestern," Alice spat. If she was remorseful for having just slapped her daughter around the face she didn't show it. 

"Fuck you," Betty seethed through her teeth. 

"Elizabeth, you can't speak to your parents like that," Hal pleaded, clearly distraught with the scene going on before him. Betty knew that her mum was the mastermind of everything that went on in this family, her dad was simply a pawn in the game. Part of Betty felt sorry for him, how could he sleep next to this woman every night? How could he stand by her and watch his family fall apart? She didn't have the energy to ask. Instead, she glanced towards Hal and back to Alice, sighing loudly before she spoke again. 

"I'm nearly 18. I will sit my finals, finish up with school, stay for Christmas. And then I'm out." 

"Oh, please," Alice scoffed, "And just where do you think you'll go?" Betty shrugged, silently relishing in knowing her next words would sting. 

"I've got a sister who invited me to stay with her for a while," Betty answered so sweetly, almost singing he words. She tilted her head, trying to provoke Alice. "Think I might take her up on it."

"You wouldn't _dare,_ " Alice hissed at her. Betty just shrugged, turning to brush past Hal and head upstairs. "Elizabeth," she called out, causing Betty to turn back to her, "If you do that, you are on your own. Just like Polly. No help, no money. Don't you expect us to welcome you back with open arms when it all goes to shit." 

Betty gave no reaction, not even to the curse word she had never heard her mum utter, she just turned away and walked calmly up the stairs. 

Her mask of confidence fell, along with her body, against the back of her bedroom door as soon as it slammed shut. Bringing her knees to her chest, she braced her arms around them and let herself cry for a moment. How could such a good night morph into the worst morning? Maybe she over reacted, but she had reached the end of her tether. And the sting from her own mothers words, let alone palm, would linger for a long time to come. 

_Disappointment. Tramp. Stupid._

Betty shook her head as if she could rid the words from existence. She wiped under her eyes roughly, took a deep breath and pulled her phone from her pocket. There was only one person she really wanted right now, but he had just dropped her home not even 20 minutes ago. She didn't want him to worry. 

She also didn't want to make any empty threats. And there was no way she was using any money from her parents, that would just give Alice the satisfaction she thinks she deserves. So instead Betty called the next person who came to mind, her best friend who she knew would help her at the drop of a hat. No matter what she asked of her. It took two rings before Veronica picked up.

"Betty? What is happening? I know I don't acquire beauty sleep, but it's pretty early and -" Veronica's voice was hazy with sleep and Betty was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt. She hadn't even registered the early hour in her anger.

"I'm so sorry Veronica, I just -" Betty couldn't get any kind of sentence to form on her tongue, instead her words came out in strangled sobs. 

"Hey, wow, girl no. Don't be sorry. Are you okay?" Veronica's voice was suddenly alert. Betty took in a deep breath before she spoke, something she was making a habit of this morning. 

"I just, I need a favor. I promise I will explain but I, shit, I need to do this now before I chicken out." Betty could feel the tension in her bones, the complete and utter need to get as far away from here as possible.

"Girl, you know I would help you no matter what. Even if it's to hide a dead body," Veronica went silent for a moment, "That's not what this is, right?" Her comment managed to draw a breathy laugh from Betty. 

"Not yet, at least," she replied, takingg a moment to think of who her first call would be in such a circumstance. Definitely Veronica. Betty couldn't deny the knot in her stomach at what she was about to ask. "V, I need to borrow some money." 

"Just tell me an amount and it's yours." Veronica didn't even hesitate. 

"Not even going to presume I'm doing a dodgy early morning drug deal?" Now it was Veronica's turn to laugh. 

"Sweetie, I love you, but I know you. The dead body is a more likely scenario." Betty allowed a small smile to form on her lips. "Let me guess, and considering you are calling me when you are supposed to be at my place right now, it has something to do with the crazy mum club." She nodded, even though she was aware Veronica couldn't see the action. "B, where were you, really?" Betty paused for a moment and considered where exactly to start her story. Veronica barely knew anything about Jughead, or about the suggestion Polly had made that had been playing on Betty's mind ever since. So that's where she started. And Veronica, for all her usual need-to-know-every-detail, didn't interrupt once. Only to intake a sharp breath when Betty got to the details of that first night in his bed, when she was supposed to be babysitting his little sister. And then another when she got to last nights rendezvous. 

"And, god I was an idiot, I got Jug to drop me home without even a second thought to the fact that I had told mum I was staying at your place," her voice was wavering now, shaky with the true consequence this morning was going to have on her life. So with shuddering, short breaths she told Veronica all her parents had said. The way it felt to be slapped by the woman who was supposed to love you no matter what. 

"Oh Betty, I am so so sorry," she wasn't sure but she could swear it sounded as though Veronica was crying with her. 

"I don't know what to do, V. I think I really am going to take Polly on her offer." There was a sound of rustling through the phone, as though Veronica was sitting herself up in her bed.

"Wait, Betty. Are you.. Are you sure? Really?"

"I need to get out." Betty said it firmly, like there was no way of working through this. And maybe there wasn't, at least not one she could see that allowed her to live her own life. To be out from under the thumb of her parents.

"Yeah, but a different country? Talk about extreme measures, B." Veronica let out a breath in a huff, and Betty knew she should try and explain better exactly how she was feeling. But instead, in that moment, she became frustrated with Veronica. Couldn't she just fake understanding for a moment?

"V, I'm not asking for you to understand. I just, I didn't know who else to call but if you can't help me then fine, I'll find another way -"

"Jesus, Betty, you know I would never turn you away. This is just a lot to take in at 6am on a Saturday. I've got to let it sink in for a moment," Veronica soothed, calming Betty's nerves slightly. 

"I know it seems as though this has come from nowhere, but I swear V it really hasn't. I'm sorry I," the hand that wasn't clasped around her phone had curled into itself, nails pinching against the tight scarred skin of her palm, she shook it in an effort to stop the urge, "I know I haven't been completely transparent with you, and you deserve better than that from your best friend. But, please, I need your help." Betty was sobbing now, the tears were in constant flow and she wasn't sure they would ever stop. She felt so unbelievably broken and there was no coming back from this. She couldn't put on this facade anymore. 

"I will always help you, whatever you need. Ever. I swear it. You are my best friend." Betty breathed a sigh of relief, the heavy weight on her shoulders from all her secret keeping finally lessening. "But I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here and say you haven't had much sleep, right?" Betty shook her head before realising yet again her action would go unnoticed. 

"Not really, I slept a little bit with Jug but not," and then the worst feeling of all hit her square in the face. Jughead. _Jughead._ Fuck. How was she supposed to tell him, they had just promised to each other to try whatever this was, to really try. And now she was just going to leave? A new wave of despair washed over her, accompanied by fresh tears that caught against the remnants of already those already shed on her cheeks. She must have let out a loud sob because Veronica spoke again, this time with an ache in her voice. 

"You're really into this guy, huh?" She asked, sadly. 

"So much, V," Betty's words caught on her breath as she spoke, "It's undeniable. Trust me, I've tried." 

"I know how that feels, girl.' Veronica sighed before clearing her throat. "Okay, we will worry about him and everything else later. We need to take care of you before we do anything else. First on the agenda, run the shower as hot as you can handle and stay in there as long as you can, okay? Until you feel even the slightest bit better. Wash your hair with that gorgeous vanilla conditioner you use that makes you smell like Christmas." Betty managed a laugh at that. "Then put on your comfiest pair of pajamas and climb into bed, don't even worry about drying your hair, just get under that comforter of yours and sleep. Don't set an alarm, just let your body rest as long as it needs. Okay?" 

"Okay," Betty sobbed, but this time with gratitude. "I love you, V. Thank you." 

"I love you, B. I will figure some things out, call me when you wake up." 

"I will, I promise. You're the best friend a girl could ask for, you know that right?" Betty smiled through the phone, hoping it shone through to her voice. 

"Details, details," Veronica chimed, and Betty could see perfectly in her mind the hand that she would be waving through the air. "Go, shower, now." 

Betty followed Veronica's list to every detail, lathering so much conditioner in her hair she may never need to wash it ever again. She set the dial on the shower head to the jet option, letting the water pound itself into the back of her neck. It felt therapeutic, as did the heat that left her skin red. It was like a detox. Betty let her mind drift to Jughead for just a moment, remembering how his face had looked as he parked outside her house. The way he gazed at her as he spoke, his words echoed in her head. 

_"We're not gonna screw this up. Okay?"_

She repeated the words like a mantra in her head as she rinsed the conditioner from her hair, and again as she lathered her body with a matching scented body wash. The birds were chirping outside her window as she climbed into her bed, and if Betty were grateful for anything other than her best friend that morning it was that neither of her parents had bothered to check up on her. As she curled up on her side she tugged her comforter up around her neck, tucking herself in like she were a child. She repeated Jughead's words again like a promise, this time out loud. If she was seriously going to leave and go to London, she needed to tell him before the plans were set in stone. 

And she was determined not to lose him, not like everything else she had lost today. 

//-//

Betty slept for 10 hours, not even waking once. She sat up in her bed and stretched her arms as far as they could go, holding them out for a while. The after-glow of a much needed rest hovered around her for a moment before her brain caught up, snatching the feeling away. Her arms fell flat against her bed with a thud and a sigh. Rolling onto her side, she picked up her phone from where it was charging on her bedside table. The time read 4.30pm and Betty cringed inwardly at the loss of a whole day. She had a few texts from Veronica, which she skimmed over before reading the 5 or so she had gotten from Jughead. Her heart still raced whenever she saw his name pop up on her phone. The first text was sent at about 7, which couldn't have been that long after Betty had fallen asleep.

**Jughead J 7.03am  
Okay seriously, what have you done to me? I've turned into one of those guys who can't be away from his girlfriend for more than 5 minutes. This is not me. **

Betty couldn't stop the smile that grew on her face at the use of the word _girlfriend._ Or the laugh that fell from her lips at his next text, sent only a few minutes after the first. 

**Jughead J 7.06am  
Um, I hope I didn't jump the gun by calling you my girlfriend and scare you off.**

There was a gap between that text and the next, Betty assumed that was when he was asleep. Although she noted he really mustn't have slept all that long. 

**Jughead J 10.32am  
I'm just going to tell myself that you are still asleep and fight back that feeling that I scared you off. Hope you're getting your beauty sleep, babe. x **

**Jughead J 10.34am  
Not that I'm saying you need it, god, I am so good at putting my foot in it, huh? Not even sure why you like me. **

There were plenty of reasons, Betty thought to herself. But the next and last text he had sent her during her lengthy sleep would be added to the list. 

**Jughead J 1.51pm  
Wake up sleepy head, I miss you. I can't stop thinking about last night, about you. Thank you Betty, honestly. Thank you for just being you and letting me be a part of it. No matter how big or small my part is. x **

Jughead never expected anything from her but herself, and that was one of if not the main reason why she was falling so hard for him. He had seen all the parts of her she usually kept hidden, and he was still here. Even if there had been a bump in the road, she knew that was him trying to fight whatever it was between them. Jughead was trying to protect her, but even at that point it was too late. He was carved into her heart. And even if nothing ever came between them, he would still be there. There was no fighting it, it was a force all it's own. So with a smile and a deep breath, Betty typed out a reply and decided it was time to tell some more truths today. 

**Betty 4.38pm  
Sorry Jug! I've literally just woken up. Are you at home? **

She knew it looked as though she was ignoring the rest of his texts, but she was planning on going straight too him as soon as she was dressed anyway. She would say all she wanted then. So with that thought she stood from her bed, not bothering to make it, instead deciding to leave it resembling exactly how she felt; messy and in a state of somewhere between conscious and wishing she didn't have to be. She pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a pale pink sweater and allowed herself a glance in the mirror. There was a scowl on her face, more prominent when matched with the bags under her eyes and the mark of her mother on her cheek. Even hours of sleep couldn't help those today. She made a quick decision to shove a spare set of clothes and her toiletries into a backpack, just in case. She took a brush to her hair and realised that sleeping with it wet was never a good idea, it fell flat and stuck to the sides of her face. With a sweep and the headband tied around the base of her hairbrush she tied it back in a low pony, not bothering to tuck in the fly aways around her neck or ears. She shoved the hairbrush into her bag, along with her purse and phone charger. In a last minute thought she grabbed her passport from her bottom drawer, throwing it into the bag also. Slipping her feet into a pair of converse and pulling on a loose jacket, she took yet another deep breath and stood with her hand on the door handle. 

Her phone buzzed right at that moment with a text from Jughead that told her he was at home, wasting time on his playstation and fighting sleep before he had to start his evening shift at the Whyte Wyrm. She didn't have an awful lot of time, then, and needed to leave now. She swallowed down the nerves in her throat, closed her eyes for a moment and reminded herself that she was her own person, she was strong, she could do this. If she had any luck at all today then maybe she wouldn't even be spotted as she attempted to sneak out from the house. 

Her bedroom door creaked slightly as she opened it, causing Betty to wince slightly a she pulled it closed ever so lightly. She couldn't hear anyone upstairs, and it was only a quick dash down the stairs and straight out the front door. But with the descent down, her parents voices started to flow up the stairs and she paused.

"I mean it, Hal. I'm about to go up there and drill a lock onto her bedroom door, lets see how she fights against that." Alice's voice was sharp and it cut right through Betty's ears. Hal's reply came incredulously, he sounded weak and beaten down. 

"Alice, for god sake. She is our daughter, we can't treat her like a prisoner in her own home." Betty smiled the tiniest bit at that, at least one of her parents knew how ridiculous this was. 

"Like hell, she is my daughter and I will treat her how I damn well please. She would be lucky to ever see the light of day at this point. God, where did we go so wrong? With both of them? We have always given them everything, have always wanted nothing but the best. Why did I have to be cursed with daughters like this?" 

And with that Betty had heard enough. Her caution was out the window as she stomped down the stairs, hoping like hell she was making a racket. She had always been told her whole life that ladies don't stomp, especially down stairs. It worked, as suddenly Alice was at the bottom of the stairs to meet her. She looked just as disheveled as Betty felt, but when they clocked eyes she saw no remorse. 

"You are not going anywhere, Elizabeth Cooper." 

"You can't stop me from leaving, Alice," Betty spat, knowing the use of her first name would cut her deep. She tilted her head before continuing, "So don't try, because I really wouldn't like a matching hand print on the other side of my face." The way Alice was looking at her now, as if she hated her, would be permanently etched into Betty's mind.

"Who are you?" Alice asked harshly, shaking her head. 

"One of the daughters you were cursed with," Betty taunted, throwing the words back in Alice's face. She watched as her mothers face fell for a split second, she could see the vulnerability and hurt like a flash flood across her face before it was gone as quick as it came, replaced by a scowl to match one of her own. With a slow shake of her head Alice muttered words that would never leave Betty. 

"If you take one step out of this house, you are no daughter of mine." 

"Alice," Hal pleaded, glancing between his wife and his daughter. A look of pure agony on his face. Betty gave him a small, sad smile with eyes that said she was sorry before looking past Alice as she started towards the door. 

"Fine." Betty's shoulder collided with Alice's at the foot of the stairs, and Betty half expected her to stand in her way and not let her leave. Part of her, the 7 year old girl who used to want to grow up and be just like her mum, the part that ached to be loved unconditionally wished that she would. But she didn't say another word as Betty's hand grasped the door knob so tight her knuckles turned white. Betty paused for a sliver of a second, waiting for a rebuttal, but nothing came. So with a deep sigh she opened the front door without looking back at either of her parents, and slammed the door on them.

She somehow managed to hold her tears back as she walked to the bus stop, and even during the agonizingly long bus ride to the South Side. With every bump in the road Betty felt her resolve breaking, bit by bit. And so by the time she standing in front of the front door the the Jones', all that was left was a weak hold on her heart. When Jughead opened the door to her, the look of surprise and then _pure happiness_ that crossed his face caused her to break. Before he could even catch on to what was happening she grabbed his face between his hands and rose on her toes to crush her lips fervently against his. It was amazing how she felt completely broken but so full of hope all at once as his arms came to wrap around her waist, pulling her against him. Betty broke the kiss first but kept her face close to hers, their foreheads resting against one another. 

"Mmm, you're lucky nobodies home," Jughead hummed appreciatively under his breath. His eyes were closed so he hadn't noticed the tears that were streaming down Betty's face, she hadn't even given him a chance to see her face properly before she kissed him. When he finally opened his eyes to look at her properly, Betty felt him stiffen against her. His happy, smiley haze was quickly replaced with a look of concern. "Betty? Whats wrong?" 

"J-Jug," His name came out as a sob between heavy breaths, "I'm so-sorry," And just as it had been earlier, her words were caught in her throat. Jughead grasped her arms and pulled her into the house properly, closing the door behind them. He tucked Betty underneath his arm as he lead her up the stairs to his bedroom. He sat her slowly down on his bed before taking up seat beside her, not once removing his hands from her. Rubbing slow circles on her back, he let her sit and cry for a moment and gather herself. He muttered reassuring things into her ear between kisses on her cheek and temple, "It's okay," "When you're ready to talk, Betty."

"God I am a mess today," Betty huffed, wiping roughly under her eyes. 

"A beautiful mess," Jughead replied. Betty shot him a look and rolled her eyes. As much as she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, it felt bearable with Jughead by her side. "Hey," he whispered, nudging her side with is own, "I mean it." Betty smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek softly. "You gonna tell me what's going on, Coop?" 

"How long have you got?" She joked, nuzzling her face into his neck. She felt him glance towards the clock on his bedside table. 

"About 40 minutes before I need to leave for work." Betty sighed against him, silently hoping she could get herself together enough to condense and tell him everything in such a short amount of time. "I can call in if you need me." 

"No, no, it's okay," she muttered into his neck. It was warm, tucked up beside him. She felt safe, she felt at home. With Jughead running his hand soothingly up and down her arm, she decided she could just tell him everything from where she sat curled into him. From where she felt safe, without having to look at his face as she attempted not to hurt him. With a shaky breath she started where he had left her, at her front door. He sat silent and listened intently, the only reaction coming when she told him about the slap. 

"What the fuck, Betty? Let me look at you," He pleaded, trying to pull her from his neck. But Betty shook her head and tucked herself in tighter. 

"Just let me finish, please Jug," she begged, trying to fight back the sobs again. She knew he didn't like it, that much was obvious in the way his stance never softened again as she told him the rest of her morning. Telling him about the favour she needed from Veronica was the hardest, this was when the ball was to drop. Even though Jughead knew about the seed Polly had planted in regards to London, hell, he had even suggested asking Veronica for money, that was at a time when he was trying to push her away. He didn't even react to this, instead he waited patiently as Betty finished. 

"Then she said that, that if I left I was no daughter of hers." The damn broke once again, and Betty felt as though she may never get through another day in her life without crying. "And here I am." Jughead's arms were tight around her shoulders at this point, he placed reassuring kisses to the top of her head like it was a ritual. 

"Fucking hell, Betty. I am so so sorry that this is happening to you," He soothed, rocking them back and forth on his bed. She didn't really know what to say to him, so she finally pulled herself from his embrace and chanced a look at his face. She wasn't exactly sure what look she was thinking she would find, but it wasn't the one that graced his face. He was looking at her like he _loved_ her, and suddenly her heart felt unbelievably heavy in her chest and there were butterflies flapping in her stomach. Was that was this was? Love? "God, look at that." His fingertips were feather light against the mark on her cheek. There was a crease between his brows that Betty ached to reach and smooth out. "How could anyone ever lay their hands on you like this?" He shook his head in disbelief, "Let alone your own mother." 

"I think her words stung more, if I'm honest." Betty confessed, shrugging. She locked her eyes with his own, trying to swallow down the phrase that wanted to burst from her lips unwillingly. There was something else that they needed to address. And once she found the words to say, they didn't really stop. "I had to come and tell you, Jug. Because Veronica said she would help me, help me get to London but I know we literally made a promise this morning to not screw whatever this is up, and then you called me your girlfriend in that text and honestly nothing has ever felt so right, but here I am making plans to leave the fucking country and I don't know how I'll make it work but I want this, I want us, even if I leave. I want this to work so bad, Jug." 

"Okay." Jughead spoke so calmly, so sure just in one word, it took Betty off guard. 

"What?"

"I said," he repeated, lifting her hands and opening them, kissing her scarred palms, "Okay. Whatever you've got to do, wherever you've got to go, I support you. I'm not going anywhere. Not from here, anyway," he placed his hand over her heart. "No matter where in the whole world you are, that won't change." The sentiment made Betty feel like she could melt into him. She grasped at his hand over her heart, and he took hers and placed in on his own chest, over his own heart. "And I'll still have you, here." She shook her head in disbelief, at how well he was taking this.

"Jug, this is nuts. We're only just really starting out, and people say long distance is never a good thing and -" The words tumbled from her mouth again, reassuring no one.

"Hey, baby, stop. Stop." Jughead leaned forward and placed a soft kiss against her forehead. She breathed in the scent of him, grasping at his shirt desperately. He didn't move his mouth from her forehead as he spoke. "You're right, we are just starting out. So we won't know any different, will we? It'll be our normal, just for a little while." 

"I guess," Betty's voice broke around the words. Jughead leaned back from her and took her face between his hands. 

"And before then, we have a lot of time to get to know each other properly. We have time to be together. School is nearly out, and then I'll be around you so much you'll get sick of me and be counting down the days to leave." He smirked at her then, his eyes glassy with tears unshed, and Betty had never seen anything so beautiful.

"Shut up," she smiled, managing a light laugh. "You are the only thing that will be hard to leave," she whispered, her fingers tracing over his features as if to commit them to memory. 

"I promise I won't tell Veronica you said that," he whispered against her fingers on his mouth. There were 3 little words on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't want them to be diminished by the heavy cloud that hung over this day. So she tucked them away, safe and warm in her heart for the time being. Jughead glanced towards the clock again, "Okay, we've got about 15 minutes until I need to leave for work. That gives us a good 10 minutes of cuddle time?" He wiggled his brows at her. 

"Come here," Betty whispered, throwing herself around his shoulders with such force they fell back onto his bed. As they lay there, completely wrapped around each other, stealing soft kisses, Betty spared a passing thought to how she was ever going to leave this. Jugheads entrance into her life had the best and the worst timing imaginable. Because without him she would be dealing with this a lot worse, but in being with him, she would then have to leave him. 

"Stop thinking about it, baby. Just for now, okay?" Jughead whispered the words into her mouth, and she knew he was right. They had time, it didn't need to be ruined by those thoughts. Not yet. 

 

-//-

 

Jughead had insisted on dropping Betty at Veronica's, no matter how out of his way it was. This was the first time she had been on the back of his bike, and she was surprised with how freeing it felt to be completely exposed to the elements whilst speeding through them. It was an addictive feeling, and Betty could definitely see the appeal. He left her with a kiss and a promise to pick her up later, at her request, as she reminded him that she no longer had a curfew. 

Veronica showered her with hugs and reassuring words for the rest of the evening. She ordered in Betty's favourite take out, and Archie came over to join them in watching The Breakfast Club. Betty hadn't actually spoken to Archie, but she presumed Veronica had filled him in, for which she was grateful because she couldn't bear to repeat the whole story again. He enclosed her in a tight bear hug that only Archie Andrews could give, and asked her no questions. Later on they were all in the lounge room, Betty had a couch to herself while Veronica and Archie cuddled up on the other. The movie had just finished up, and Betty figured Veronica knew she was feeling better as she had waited until now to bring up the days events. Veronica rose up from the couch and came to join Betty on the other one, taking her hands in her own. 

"Okay, I hope you don't mind, but I reached out to Polly," Veronica trailed off, waiting for Betty's reaction. She really didn't mind because she figured Polly would be the easiest one to tell, she would understand. 

"Thanks Veronica, I really appreciate all you've done for me." Veronica waved her hand at Betty in dismissal. 

"Please, B, anything for you. But I had a point to make, I asked her about dates that suited. And she, of course, said she would welcome you with open arms _tomorrow,_ " Veronica laughed, rolling her eyes, "Sisters, honestly. I told her that was ridiculous because there is no way you aren't finishing school when you are so close. If you need you can stay here until then." 

"I wouldn't want to impose -"

"Betty, for the hundredth time, stop. This is just as much your home, if not more so right now." Betty couldn't find the words to explain how grateful she was, so she just nodded. "So I figured you would want to stay for Christmas, and given that your birthday is in mid-Jan I want you here for that. My travel agent has flights on stand by for the 31st of January. And I've literally done as much of your visa application as I can on my own, the rest needs to be done by you. Do you have your passport? If not we can send Archie to get it, he wouldn't mind. Right Archiekins?" Betty glanced at Archie then, trying not to laugh at the slightly horrified look on his face. He sat up quickly. 

"Uh, yeah, of course," he muttered, unsure. Betty reached for her bag under the coffee table in front of her, pulling out her passport and waving it in front of Archie in reassurance. 

"Thanks, Arch. But no need." She could swear she saw his chest deflate in relief as he fell back against the couch. Betty understood, nobody wanted to face Alice Cooper on the best of days. And this was definitely not the best of days. 

"Okay, good, come with me," Veronica grabbed Betty's free hand and pulled her to the office. She sat her in front of the laptop, open on the visa application that Veronica had half filled out. "You have time to back out, if you want B. I know it probably seems like I took over, but I really didn't want you to have to deal with all this stuff on your own." Betty grasped one of Veronica's hands that was gripping her shoulder. 

"No, not at all. Thank you so much," she reassured her best friend. Betty was so unbelievably grateful for the support she had from her friends today. They really were the family you chose, and she had chosen well. 

"We need to photocopy your passport and attach it to the digital application, so lets get that all sorted first." Betty handed Veronica her passport, and carried on from where she had left off on the application. It took another 15 minutes for Betty to finish it off. And then, of course, she had to double check she filled out and attached everything she needed, proof read for spelling mistakes more than once, before Veronica's hand fell over her own.

"How about you send the application the same time I process the payment for these flights, yeah?" Veronica suggested. Betty took in a deep, shaky breath and nodded her head. "Ready?" 

"Ready. 1, 2, 3.." And the only thing that flashed through her mind as she pressed send was Jugheads face.

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also please take all schooling/birthday/visa details with a grain of salt, remember it's fiction and barely accurate. <3  
> lemme know your thoughts!  
> come chat on [tumblr](https://allskynostars.tumblr.com/). x


	10. Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, guess whose back! Please don’t hate me. I don’t have much of an excuse except I just lost the love for writing little while there, but I found it somewhere :) I hope you’ll still have me! 
> 
> I also found myself a beta, so thanks to my lovely Addie (@beanie-betty) for looking this over and fixing all my numerous mistakes. You’re the best! And to my T (@lazydaizies) for always encouraging me to just bloody write! Haha. 
> 
> Smutty times ahead! 
> 
>  
> 
> -//-

Jughead was having trouble focusing on the job at hand during his shift at the Whyt Wrym. His mind just kept wandering back to Betty. The thoughts at the forefront of his mind were overflowing with her. How sad her eyes had looked at his front door, how hard her mum must have actually struck her to leave a mark so fierce. 

And then there was that text she had sent him half hour ago that said her visa application had been sent, and the flights had been booked. 

He knew it was the right thing, and he would never tell her otherwise. And undoubtedly it would suck, but he knew in his heart that she would be worth it, long distance or not. There was also the fact that he himself was moving to the other side of the country if all went to plan, so it wasn’t as though he was being left behind. In fact, this was almost perfect. Jughead had never let himself become involved with any girl because he knew time would inevitably be up, and he wanted to save himself from that heartbreak. But Betty was an undeniable force, and if he was going to fall for anyone enough to do this with, then of course it would be her. Betty Cooper, with her seamless blonde ponytails and her ever-growing sweater collection. Of course Jughead was going to fall for a girl far, far too good for him. Within the few months that she had been in his life, she had left a permanent imprint on him and Jughead knew he was already in far too deep. 

He sighed as he leaned back against the bar, wondering how the hell he let himself fall so hard -

"Meeting call, 10 minutes!" Viper’s voice boomed across the room, catching Jughead’s attention. The other thought that had been occupying his mind was the Serpents, and how it was about time he hung up his hat. Or his jacket, for choice of a better word. Cheryl's words from all those weeks ago still spun around in his head, about how if Betty got too close, there would be eyes on her as well as him. The thought of Betty being on any kind of Serpent radar made Jughead feel sick to his stomach, even though he knew damn well she would be of no danger to any of them. She didn't have a clue about the runnings of the gang, and Jughead was definitely planning on keeping her in the dark about it. But if she was leaving, then there would be no reason for anyone to be watching her, right? That was a far more reassuring thought. Jughead scrambled to the other end of the bar, trying to catch the serpent president. 

"Actually, Vipe, can I speak to you quickly?" Jughead spoke lowly, so as not to attract unwanted attention. This wasn't a conversation he wanted anyone else to be privy to - a query on how exactly to leave the Serpents wasn't something to yell about. But a quick glance around the bar let Jughead know that two people had heard his call. Frankie was eyeing him suspiciously from his perch at the other end of the bar, and Jughead inwardly cursed his inability to be subtle in his awkwardness. 

"Sure, kid. What's up?" Viper boomed in response, clearly not registering Jughead’s attempt to be discreet. He could feel two sets of eyes burning into the back of his head. His gaze darted nervously from the floor back to Viper. 

"Um, alone?" Jughead clarified in a hush, nodding his head in the general direction of the crowd. 

"Ah, right," Viper finally lowered his voice to match Jughead’s and gave a slight nod of his head in understanding. "Come through, we haven't got long." Viper gestured in the direction of his office with a jerk of his head as he walked away, not bothering to see if Jughead would follow. 

"Forsythe," the voice that belonged to second set of eyes on Jughead’s back finally spoke up, trying to grab his attention. He turned in Cheryl’s direction, only to ask Joaquin who was sat beside her to man the bar for a few moments. Jughead hadn't yet had a chance to berate either of his best friends for letting Betty get into such a state the night before, even if it did work in his favour (something he would put money on Cheryl trying to claim). That didn't help the fact that he was pissed at both of them, but they could wait until after to feel his wrath. Cheryl was throwing him a look that was questioning at the same time as accusing, it was one he knew well. So of course, he continued to ignore her. Joaquin just gave him a small, shy nod in agreement as he climbed over the bar and took Jughead’s place. "Don't make me get full name on your scrawny ass, Jughead!" Cheryl called out. Jughead just turned to head in the direction of Viper’s office and threw his hand in the air, flipping Cheryl off as he walked away. 

“What's up, Jug?” Viper asked as he sat at his desk, organising some papers. That was one thing that always surprised Jughead, the amount of paperwork that went into running the Serpents. He presumed a lot was to do with the bar, but still. 

“I, um,” Jughead stumbled over his words as well as his feet as he crossed the room to sit in the chair on the opposite side of Viper’s desk. His fingers grasped at the points of his beanie of their own accord before he yanked it from his head and played with it in his hand. “You know my plan, about school -” 

“Did you hear back about your scholarship?” Viper asked excitedly as he looked up from his papers, his eyes wide in anticipation. That didn't really help Jughead feel better about what he was about to query. He shook his head quickly, a single shake from side to side as he cleared his throat. 

“No, not yet.” Viper offered him a small smile, one that Jughead knew meant he still had hope that he would get it. He went back to signing the documents on his desk. 

“Okay, well, get to the point, J. Meeting’s in 5.” 

“We've spoken before about what will happen if I get the scholarship, if I have to leave.” His voice wasn't as strong as he willed it to be, and as Viper raised his eyes slowly, wearing a look he couldn't quite determine, Jughead swallowed loudly. It suddenly felt very hot in the office as Jughead shifted in his seat. He wiped his palms against the side of his jeans, urging himself to balls up. “So I guess my question is, how does one go about leaving the Serpents?” 

Viper sighed loud enough that Jughead knew it was exaggerated for his own benefit. He gathered the now signed papers in his hands and shuffled them together before laying them neatly back on the desk, his hands clasped over where they lay. 

“I know we have talked about this before, Jug. But we exclusively discussed that you would take a leave of absence, as such, while you studied.” Jughead wasn't really sure whether he was supposed to answer, so instead he just nodded along. “Look, you know we love the bones of you here, and we promised your dad we would always look out for you. I just gotta ask, what's bringing this on? Is someone threatening you? Is it Gladys?” 

“No, god no,” Jughead rushed to clarify, shaking his head. He wasn't about to disclose exactly what Cheryl had said to him that made him worried, because that would mean dropping Betty into it. And that was definitely not something he was willing to do. “I just don't know if I'll ever coming back here, to Riverdale, you know? And I don't want to leave you guys stranded. I want to leave clean.” 

“Mhmm,” Viper nodded slowly, his eyes still trained on Jughead’s face. 

“I'm just asking, Vipe. I swear. I haven't made my mind up yet.” Jughead let his voice soften slightly, trying to get through to the man he had known his whole life instead of the Southside Serpents president. Viper let himself fall back further into his chair with a slump, raising a hand to scrub over his face. 

“I get it, kid. I fucking get it.” Viper seemed to stop blinking for a moment as he contemplated how best to deal with the conversation at hand. “If you decided that was what you wanted, you know you'll have to speak to Cliff.” 

Jughead winced inwardly at the name he was really hoping wouldn’t be dropped. Because as much as Viper was the President, executive decisions still had to be cleared by the head Blossom. The silent ruler. 

“I know, I'm sorry Jug, that's just the rules.” 

He nodded at Viper with a defeated smile. After all, they all knew well enough that it was the rule, the one rule you would not care to break. 

“I know, man. I know. Like I said, it's just a query at this point.” Jughead shrugged. “Thanks, Vipe.” 

“Don't mention it,” Viper started as he leaned forward in his chair and lowered his voice, “and I mean that kid, don't you mention this to anyone, okay? Some of the guys around here won't wanna hear this kind of talk.” He gave Jughead a pointed look, one that had an obvious meaning. Don't tell anyone, but specifically don't tell Frankie. 

Before Jughead had a chance to respond, with something along the lines of as if I would ever tell that guy anything, it seemed someone's ears were burning as there was a loud, heavy knock at the door. 

“Vipe, you're cutting into meeting time.” It was Frankie, and he didn't sound all too pleased. Viper called out that they were coming, before rising from his seat and rounding the desk to clasp a hand against Jugheads shoulder. 

“Proud of you, kid.” The smile on Vipers face was genuine, and Jughead felt one to match forming on his own face. He followed Viper out of the office, and the look Frankie shot him was not one to be missed. 

 

-//- 

 

The meeting didn't run as late as usual, so Jughead had flicked Betty a quick text to say he would pick her up in a little bit and stayed behind to help close up the bar. Even if it was only an extra 45 minutes, every dollar helped. 

“Forsythe, are you going to tell us what that little meeting was about earlier?” Cheryl had, much to everyone's surprise but his own, decided to hang back and also help with the closing. But she definitely had less than giving a helping hand in her intentions. Jughead was wiping down the tables, as Cheryl just followed him around with the spray bottle of multi-purpose. It was definitely amusing how out of place she looked, and also how desperate she was to be in the loop. 

“That depends. Are you going to explain exactly how Betty ended up at your trashy party last night?” Jughead asked, his voice lowered as he brought up Betty. The cloth definitely became noticeably more aggressive towards the table the more he spoke. 

“Excuse me,” Cheryl gasped with a hand to her chest, “my parties are anything but trash. How dare you. But, I invited her if you must know.” Jughead flicked his eyes to meet her own as he stood up straight. 

“How did you invite her. You don't even know her.” It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Cheryl had no idea who Betty was, and neither did Joaquin, that much was evident in how they let her get so smashed last night. That definitely wasn't her style. 

“We met her, yesterday,” Cheryl explained as she handed him back the spray bottle. “She was out for a walk with JB, and your adoring little sister introduced us.” She smiled widely at him, showing off all her expensive dental. “I like her, she's got fire.” Jughead rolled his eyes as he pushed past Cheryl and made his way behind the bar, dumping the dirty cloth he'd been using in the sink. Although he did find it hard not to smile at Cheryl's choice of words, Betty definitely had fire. 

“You liked her so much, you left her in the care of Joaquin,” Jughead scolded. Cheryl sat herself on a bar stool with a little pout on her lips. 

“Hey!” They both heard Joaquin yell in his own defence as he called out from the back. 

“I was distracted. She's a big girl, Jug. She can handle it.” Cheryl dismissed that part of the conversation with a wave of her manicured hand. 

“Just, don't do it again, okay?” He pointed a finger at Cheryl for emphasis. “Okay!?” Jughead raised his voice in order for Joaquin to hear. 

“Got it, boss! Meet out the front, I'll get the lights!” Came the reply. 

“You like her, a lot, don't you?” Cheryl asked. Her tone had softened somewhat, as had the look on her face. Jughead held her gaze for a moment, saying more with a look than he could with his words. He grabbed his helmet from under the bar and headed out the front door, Cheryl hot on his heels. 

“I want to meet her.” 

“You did, remember? She had a lovely time on your bathroom floor.” Jughead noticed now his own voice had softened. Even though the reason today had been such a mess for Betty was because of the party, he knew ultimately that wasn't his friends’ fault. She went to find him, after all. Not them. Cheryl clicked her tongue with a roll of her eyes. 

“Properly, Jug. If she means as much to you as I think she does, I want to know her.” This was one of those rare moments where he truly noticed that Cheryl was making an effort to be genuine. So he gave her a quick nod as he slung a leg over his bike. “Come for dinner, next week. You know I didn't forget it's your birthday Saturday. Please?” she asked. 

Jughead thought on it for a moment. He didn't like a fuss over his birthday; he never let Gladys or even JB make a big deal out of it. He and JB had their own tradition, a film at the Bijou the night before, of course. And usually Cheryl would try and throw him some kind of party, and Joaquin would talk her down and it always ended up just the three of them hanging out in Joaquin’s garage. But he had Betty now, and he knew he couldn't keep it a secret forever. And even though a dinner was definitely not Jughead’s scene, the thought that Betty might enjoy meeting his friends properly meant he would grit his teeth and persevere. 

“Fine. I'll ask Betty, but no promises.” 

Cheryl clapped her hands together in glee just as Joaquin approached after locking up the Wyrm. 

“Jesus, what's got the ice queen clapping? Hell freezing over?” Joaquin joked as he got closer, wiggling his eyebrows at Jug. 

“Oh, please. You're coming to mine for Jug’s birthday dinner, okay?” It was posed as a question, but both boys knew it was a demand. “Along with Jug’s new lady love.” 

“Birthday dinner? Jesus, hell is freezing over,” he laughed, turning to face Jughead. “I like her, dude. She's cool,” he beamed, “if I was straight, let me tell you.” Jughead held out a hand to stop him. 

“Please, I would prefer if you didn't tell me. I don't wanna have to kick your ass,” he joked, returning Joaquin’s beaming smile. His friend punched him playfully on the arm before climbing onto his own bike and saying his goodbyes as he started the engine. Jughead watched Joaquin’s bike ride into the distance, the only noise coming from the distancing engine and the late night breeze, as Cheryl spoke up. 

“You're gonna leave the Serpents, aren't you?” Her voice was so small it took Jughead a moment to turn and face her. “You're going to leave us.” 

“Not you, Cher. Not you or Joaquin. You guys are my family. But,” he shrugged, “I can't see how I can make it all work together. School, being so far away, the Serpents-” 

“Betty.” Cheryl added. Jughead decided then that he wasn't going to correct her and tell her Betty was leaving. That wasn't his business to tell. And if he was honest, Cheryl would probably use that as a reason for him to stay involved. 

So he just nodded into the night air, and watched as Cheryl nodded slowly back at him. Someone cleared their throat in the silence. 

“Don't forget, mention the dinner to Betty,” she said it quickly, with a sharpness that he recognised, before turning away from him and quickly mounting her own bike to head home. 

Jughead took a deep breath, trying to determine exactly how he was feeling as a text came through on his phone and he forgot the rest of his troubles. 

 

**Coop, 11.38pm**

**When are you coming, I kind of miss you a little bit x**

 

-//-

 

Jughead watched as Betty gave Veronica a tight hug before securing her backpack over her shoulders and almost running to his bike. 

“Don't do anything I wouldn't do!” Veronica called out. Betty had reached Jughead by then, smiling and rolling her eyes as she gave him a quick peck on the lips. 

“That doesn't leave me many options, V!” Betty called back. Her “hi” came out far more quietly. 

“Hey, you,” he whispered back, unable to help himself, and leaned forward to kiss her again. He handed her his helmet, which she quickly fastened over her head before climbing on the bike behind him. As soon as her arms were tight around his waist and she gave him a little squeeze, Jughead took off back in the direction of the South Side. To the trailer.

 

There was something about having Betty ride with him that made him feel powerful. Like her arms tight around his waist signified something for him, they anchored him to her. They made him feel safe, _she_ made him feel safe. 

 

They pulled up to the trailer 10 minutes later, and no sooner had they stepped foot through the door, Betty dropped her backpack and wrapped her arms around Jughead’s shoulders, her hands clasping together at the base of his neck. 

“Hi, again,” she whispered before bringing her lips to his own. Jugheads hands found their way around her waist, pulling her tight against him. Betty's lips were warm against his own, inviting. They moved slowly against each other's mouths, savouring the moment together. 

“Could totally get used to this,” Jughead murmured into Betty's open mouth. She let out a light laugh and pulled away from him. His eyes flicked over her face, and he couldn't stop the thought that she looked exhausted. 

“You okay?” He asked, brushing the hair that had come loose from her ponytail behind her ear. Betty closed her eyes at his touch. 

“Mmmm,” she replied lowly, before tucking herself under Jugheads chin. He could feel her breath on his neck, warm and light. “I don't really want to talk about it anymore. I kind of want to wash the day away.” 

“Understandable.” He started to rub light circles all around Betty's back, over her sweater. The light hum of appreciation he got in return brought a small smile to his lips. “You want to have a shower?” Betty nodded in affirmative against his neck, which caused his chin to move in time with her head. Her mouth moved against his skin as she spoke.

“Wait, Jug, who's paying for this place to stay lit up?” 

“The Serpents. Quite a lot of the guys live in Sunnyside as well. Tall Boy is in charge of maintenance for the park, so he just keeps it going. He knows I like to spend a lot of time here.” 

“Oh, okay,” she replied, seeming satisfied enough with that answer. 

“Although, I don't know if they'll bother when I leave.” At that Betty perked her head up, her interest piqued. She had a cute little confused expression on her face as she looked at him, with a creased brow and pouty lip that Jughead wanted to kiss away. 

“Are you going to stop coming here?” 

“I mean, it’s a mighty long way to travel from Washington College,” he started, hoping Betty was catching his drift. “I’ll have to find a new safe space. Although, I'm jumping the gun a little here.” 

“Jug, I'm not really following.” 

“It's something I've been meaning to tell you, for a long time now,” he explained, speaking slowly as he tightened his hold on her waist. “It's not that I wanted to keep it a secret, it's just I didn't think that anything was going to come of this,” he lifted a hand away from her waist to signal between the two of them, “and so I kept it to myself. Well, Cheryl knows as well, but-” 

“Now you're rambling.” 

“Right, sorry.” He shook his head before continuing. “I applied for a scholarship. They have an amazing creative writing program. My grade from the year was high enough to apply with, so,” he trailed off, suddenly distracted by the smile that was growing across Bettys face. It was the most glorious thing he had ever seen, _she_ was the most glorious thing he had ever seen. 

“That is the brightest spot on what has been the shittiest day. Jug!” She nuzzled back into his neck again, pulling him tight against her. “I'm so proud of you! When do you hear back?” 

“I'm not too sure,” he shrugged. “It's a waiting game.” Betty pulled back to look him in the eyes.

“You're totally going to get it,” she spoke, her lips against his mouth before kissing him fast and hard, and then she was gone all too quickly from his mouth and his arms. “Okay, I really need to have a shower.” 

“There's a towel on the rack, but I don't think there's anything that smells remotely like you in there,” he told her bashfully, suddenly embarrassed at the state in which he kept the place. He knew for a fact there was only a single bar of soap in the shower caddy. She smiled knowingly at him. 

“Lucky for you, Veronica Lodge is nothing if not a fabulous hostess,” Betty informed him as she lifted her backpack and shook it lightly. “She overflowed my bag with things that will help make me feel temporarily, superficially better. Body washes, bath bombs, lotions. You name it, I'm sure it is in this bag.” 

“Of course,” Jughead laughed, shaking his head. He should have known better. He watched as Betty pointed a thumb in the direction of the bathroom, turned down the hallway, and then glanced at him from under her lashes as she entered the bathroom. 

Or maybe he just imagined that. 

 

There wasn't really any telling how long Betty would spend in the shower, and he knew that the bedroom in which he sometimes slept was in a less than ideal state. As he walked down the hallway he noticed Betty hadn't closed the door to the bathroom completely. 

“Sometimes the water takes a while to heat, babe, sorry,” he called out before continuing to the bedroom. In there, he made quick work of making the bed and fluffing the pillows as best he could. Then he picked up some discarded pieces of clothing and left them discreetly in the corner by the door, a reminder to take them home and add them to the washing. 

Suddenly he had a thought that if they were staying here, there was undoubtedly nothing to have for breakfast. He figured they could always go to Pops, but quickly his mind conjured an image of Betty in bed early in the morning, straddled on his lap dressed in only one of his old flannels, feeding him some sort of breakfast food with her fingers. (The food was not the point.) And god, did he want that. So he meant to head back down the hall to the kitchen, silently hoping that there maybe be some freezer-burnt eggos or something in the back of the fridge freezer. 

But he noticed the door to the bathroom was still ajar, if not even more than when he walked past just before. There was definitely steam seeping from the shower, and maybe it was just because she had just had a hell of a day, or maybe he was just a seventeen year old boy with serious hormones, but something encouraged him to push open the door and peer into the room. 

He knew instantly she had left the door open on purpose, because she hadn't pulled the shower curtain either.

“Betty?” he called out, confident in the fact that she knew he was there, but still not wanting to frighten her. Betty turned to look at him sheepishly over her shoulder. He knew that look. Suddenly his hands felt clammy, and not just from the humidity of the room. 

“A little help?” She gestured to the soap-lathered loofa in her hand. Jughead swallowed what felt like rocks. He nodded, probably too eagerly, before pulling his jacket and T-shirt over his head in one swift motion, along with his beanie, leaving them in a messy pile on the floor. Next he kicked off his shoes and undid the button and zipper on his pants at the same time. In less than no time, he was standing in the small bathroom in just his boxers. A breezy giggle escaped from Betty's lips as she raised an eyebrow at him. “Trying to keep your modesty, Jones?” And then she turned to face him completely and Jughead forgot how to speak. 

He couldn't believe the sight in front of him; she was undoubtedly the most beautiful thing he had ever laid his eyes on. It wasn't that he wanted to ogle her, but there wasn't any way for him to physically pull his eyes from cascading over her body. _Her wet, naked, soapy body…_

In less than 10 seconds, Jughead had kicked his boxers across the room and climbed into the tub. Betty smiled up at him so innocently, as though she wasn't completely exposed to him. She handed her loofa to him before turning around, pulling her hair over her shoulder in one swoop. 

“Can you get my back, please?” There weren't any words forming on his tongue in that moment, the best he could manage being a quick nod as he rubbed the loofa against the planes of her back. 

Her skin looked so smooth and inviting to him, so much so that he dropped the loofa to the floor of the tub and began working the suds into her skin with his bare hands. Betty let out a hum of appreciation and he worked the muscles in her back slowly, bringing his hands up to her shoulders. His thumbs found their way to the top of her spine, rubbing small circles into the base of her neck. Jughead watched as her head fell forward, exposing the expanse of her neck to him, inviting his mouth to layer open-mouthed kisses along the column of her soapy skin. 

“Mmmm.” Her approving moans only gave him more confidence. His hands traveled across her shoulders slowly, coming down the front of her chest before rubbing over her breasts. His fingers found her nipples peaked, so he pinched one between his thumb and forefinger. Betty's head fell back against him, landing in the crook of his neck. He could see her eyes were closed, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. 

There was no way she couldn't feel his excitement digging into her back. 

“Sorry, its kind of hard not t-” 

“Definitely hard,” Betty teased with a laugh in her voice. Jughead couldn't help but laugh with her, and his head dropped into her shoulder as his hands fell from her breasts. “That doesn't mean stop,” came out just above a whisper as she took a hold of his hands and turned to face him. He noticed how her eyes darted between them quickly before rising back up to meet his own. There was no helping the smirk that grew on Jughead’s face as she placed his hands back against her chest. He preferred it this way, it was much easier to press his lips to her own. 

“Can you blame me,” he whispered against her mouth, his tongue coming out to trace along her bottom lip. 

“Juggie.” 

“Mmm?” 

“Touch me, please.” 

“Let's rinse you off first, huh?” he smirked. Betty agreed with a faint nod and let Jughead lead her back into the steady stream of water. He watched as she leaned her head back to rinse the conditioner from her hair, running her hands through the strands. He couldn’t help but follow the trail of the water as it washed the soap from her body, completely mesmerised by the way the water ran across her breasts. Suddenly the urge to follow the trail overwhelmed him, and his tongue darted out to chase the droplets of water dripping down her neck. He followed them down across the expanse of her chest, lapping up the beads of water until he found a nipple to take into his mouth. 

Betty’s hands wound their way into Jughead’s hair as she pulled tight against his scalp. He was gentle at first, just running his tongue around the peak slowly, but then Betty yanked on his hair in desperation, and he knew that was her plea for more. Without much hesitation, his teeth sank into her nipple and Betty mewled in response, arching her back towards Jughead. He released her nipple from his mouth with a pop, but his lips didn’t stray far, instead choosing to suck a bruise into the underside of her breast, where nobody but him would find it. 

The realisation that this version of Betty was for _his eyes only_ brought him a rush of testerone, and his hands swept around her waist to find purchase on her bare ass. Betty let out a surprised, “Oh,” as his hands squeezed her skin. He figured she must like the feeling because her hands found their way to grasp tightly at his jaw and pull his face back to her own. The look in her eyes was one of pure lust, and Jughead knew he was done for. 

“Touch me, now.” It was a command, not a request. 

He removed one of his hands from her ass and trailed it along her thigh, gripping underneath and hitching her leg around his hip so she could rest her foot against the lip of the bathtub. With a hard kiss to her mouth, Jughead’s hand found its way between her legs, where he found her wet from more than just the shower. As his fingers trailed through her folds, Betty let out a moan so filthy, Jughead had never heard anything like it. So, encouraged and completely obsessed with wanting to hear more, he sunk two digits into her without much warning. Betty bucked against him and bit down hard on his lip to stop herself making any more noise. 

“Uh uh.” Jughead pulled away from her mouth. “I wanna hear you.” 

“Juggie.” It was beyond sensual, the way she spoke. He held her gaze as his fingers begun to move inside her, and he watched her eyes roll to the back of her head when his thumb came up to press against her clit. “Fuck.” He loved to hear her curse. 

“That’s it, baby,” he crooned, putting more pressure to the press of his thumb. The way Betty raked her nails across his shoulders should have hurt, and she was definitely going to leave a mark, but it just drove him even more crazy. With her head thrown back in pure pleasure, Jughead took the opportunity to wildly suckle across the expanse of her neck. There was a spot at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, that he had learned if he grazed just the right way Betty would be putty in his hands. 

“Oh my god, Jug.” Her voice came out strained, and she began panting heavily as her head fell to his shoulder. “I feel like I’m on fire,” she whispered into his skin. It didn’t take long for Betty to reach her high under his touch. Once he curled his fingers inward and hit that sweet spot, she was falling apart in no time. 

It didn’t matter how many times in his life Jughead got to do this, it would always be his favourite pastime. 

Before he could make any kind of move, Betty tightened her grip around his neck. He could feel her leg, still wrapped around his hip, shaking as she tried to gather herself back together. She swallowed loudly before letting out a shaky breath and looking him dead in the eye, with all the trust in the world. 

“I want you, Jug. All of you.” For the shortness of her breath, her words came out strong and true. 

“Are you sure?” he asked as he searched her eyes for any sign of doubt. 

Betty pressed her lips against his in affirmation, with just a quiet “please” escaping her mouth. He kissed her back, with enough force to send them both slipping within the still soapy surface of the bathtub. Betty grasped at his shoulders in effort to hold herself up at the same time Jughead placed his hands flat against the wall. 

“Not in here, babe,” he laughed. Jughead reached a hand behind Betty and turned the tap off, stopping the flow of water that had turned cold in their heated moment. He climbed out of the tub first and held out a hand to help Betty, for fear she might slip over. They had managed to get water, well, everywhere. He grabbed one of the towels from the rack and wrapped it around Betty’s shoulders before he placed a light kiss against the tip of her nose. 

Betty had other ideas as she chased his mouth with her own and kissed him deeply, her tongue ran along the seam of his lips. He opened his mouth to her and their tongues met with a fever like he’d never felt. In a flash, the towel he had wrapped around Betty was on the floor, and she had started to push against his shoulders, toward the door and out of the bathroom. She gave him no time to protest (as if he would) before she had him in his bedroom, the back of his knees pressed against the edge of his bed. He tried to grip at her waist just as she pushed him back onto the bed with force. 

There was a brief moment for Jughead to admire her in all her beauty before she climbed onto him, a leg on each side of his thighs. She looked up at him from under her lashes as she ran her fingertips feather-light along his length, still hard from the shower. His own breath caught in his throat as he realised what could be about to happen here. 

“Betty, if you’re having any kind of doubt, we can stop -” he was cut short by one of Betty’s fingers pressed against his mouth. 

“No, Jug. I want this,” she assured him. There was a smile so genuine on her face, Jughead could feel his heart melting in his chest. She wanted this, and she wanted it with him. 

“Come here, you.” He grabbed at her wrists and pulled her down onto the bed with him, relishing in the squeal that escaped from her lips. He kissed the tip of her nose, each of her cheeks, and her forehead before he placed another square on her lips. Betty cleared her throat.

“Have you got…” she asked shyly. Jughead smiled down at her before confirming with a nod that he knew what she meant. He pulled himself away from Betty, perching on the end of his bed as he reached into the drawer of his bedside table, pulling out a full box. Betty sniggered behind him. 

“What?” he asked on a laugh. “Would you rather I wasn’t prepared? As if I’m going to leave them at home, my sister is the biggest snoop.” Betty just rolled her eyes. He pulled a condom from the box and attempted to rip the perforated edge, but it wouldn’t budge. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?” He muttered under his breath as he pulled at the foil any which way. Betty spoke up behind him again. 

“Just use your teeth,” she managed to get the few words out between her muffled giggling. He shrugged. At this point, he was willing to get the scissors from the top drawer in the kitchen. 

“Are you laughing at me?” Jughead asked as he turned to face Betty, his voice muffled by the foil packet trapped between his teeth. Betty shook her head, sucking her lips in an attempt to stop laughing. Her eyes were bright, shimmering like a night sky, and if there wasn't so much at stake here, and if there wasn’t an unopened condom packet hanging from his teeth, he would have spent the rest of the night just getting lost in her constellations. 

Betty moved along the bed toward him and wrapped a delicate hand wrapped around the base of his cock, which managed to bring him back to earth pretty quickly. In one swift motion he was all set, the foil packet now discarded on the bedroom floor. He climbed back onto his bed, then on top of Betty, before his hands trailed slowly down the smooth skin of the inside of her thighs. He applied a light pressure, her legs falling open to him automatically. He moved both his hands to either side of her head, then he moved carefully and lined himself up with her entrance. He could feel her erratic breaths against his neck. 

“You okay, baby?” he asked in a whisper, the light mood from a moment ago now smothered by something much heavier. 

“Yeah. Just...” she closed her eyes for a brief moment, took a deep breath and opened them again. The nervous look from before was now replaced with one of confidence. It made Jughead’s heart swell, to see the trust in her eyes that she was ready. Her tongue swiped across her bottom lip quickly. “Can you kiss me?” 

“As if you have to ask,” Jughead murmured, before pressing his lips to hers. It started out soft, just their lips moving against one another slowly. It was Betty's tongue that peeked out first, easing its way into his mouth and wrapping around his own. There was something in these kisses, and he knew she could feel it too. Something unsaid, a permission. 

Jughead’s hands came to rest against Betty’s jaw, gripping with just enough pressure to angle her face up so he could move his mouth down her jaw, and nibble against the supple skin of her neck. The mewling coming from Betty was definitely an encouragement. Suddenly her hips bucked up into his own, and he felt the tip of his hardness prod against her centre. Both of their eyes snapped to each other's, keeping eye contact as Betty raised her hips again. She let out a tiny hiss as he sank further in. 

“If you want to stop, just tell me, okay?” Jughead informed her again, a little breathless. She just nodded in assurance. Her hands came to grip his hips, and he took that as an invitation to push himself further in. In an act that he couldn’t be certain of being instinctual or not, Betty lifted her legs to wrap around his waist, a movement that caused him to be buried completely inside her. 

“H-holy shit,” is all Jughead could manage to speak. 

“Oh my god,” Betty cried out. 

“Is it too much? Are you okay?” He stilled, unsure whether to move or not. 

“No, it's just, it feels so...” her voice trailed off. 

“Tight?” Jughead finished for her, bringing a smile to her face. 

“You can move, just do it slowly,” she said, a little breathless. 

“Of course, baby,” he replied, before pressing light kisses to her mouth, cheeks, nose, anything his lips could find purchase on as he pulled out from her slowly. 

_“Fuck,”_ he couldn’t help the curse escape from his mouth as he pushed slowly back inside her. The tightness against his cock was like nothing he’d ever felt before. There was a part of him that felt bad that he knew this was going to be more painful than anything for Betty at first. 

He moved within her a few more times slowly, letting Betty adjust to his size. But then she whispered _“Harder,”_ against the shell of his ear before biting down on the lobe. Jugheads hips involuntarily thrust harder, causing him to sink deeper into her than before. He wasn’t sure if the nails that Betty was digging into his back were due to her pain or her pleasure, but she wasn’t telling him to stop, so he didn’t. 

“Holy shit, Juggie,” she panted against his neck, wrapping her legs even tighter around his waist. “Oh my god.” 

“You feel fucking incredible, Coop.” With every moan that slipped from Betty's mouth, his confidence grew. He hooked an arm underneath one of the legs Betty had wrapped around him, pushing it forward towards her torso. The leverage it gave him felt even more amazing, and he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. 

The new position caused a cry of pain from Betty, but when Jughead threw her a concerned look and paused for a moment, she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his mouth to hers. “Don't you dare fucking stop,” she groaned into his mouth. It was the hottest thing he had ever heard. 

“Betty, baby, I'm not gonna last, I'm g-gonna,” he could barely get his words out between the heavy breaths and involuntary moans that escaped between his lips. Betty grabbed at his hair, pulling tight at the strands as she left wet kisses all over his face. 

“It's okay Jug, come. Come for me, baby,” she begged into his open mouth. The lust that laced her voice was more than enough to push him over that edge, and he felt himself shudder as he reached his high. He automatically slumped into Betty beneath him, feeling drained of all energy. His lips pecked at her chest, where his head had fallen, as he felt Betty push against his shoulders and roll him off of herself. 

She turned to face him, her hand coming up to trace against the shape of his face, the curve of his lips. The both of them lay there for a few minutes before speaking, just watching one another. 

“That was...that was really something, Juggie.” Betty broke the silence first. 

“Really? Did it hurt?” 

“It definitely hurt,” she rubbed her thighs together at the reminder, “but in a good way. An addictive way. If that makes sense?” 

He kissed her fingers against his mouth. 

“Perfect sense.” 

Her smile was blinding, and Jughead was overcome with so many different emotions at once he had to get some of it out. He gently grabbed at her wrist to bring her hand closer to his mouth, where he pressed his lips softly against the faint scars that littered her palm. He spoke into her skin. 

“I am really proud of you Betty, for doing something for you. For being brave today, and all days.” 

She smiled up at him as her hand moved to cup the the side of his face delicately. 

“And I am proud of you, Jug. I know how much your writing means to you.” They both knew there were words that they could speak right now; neither wanted to burst this bubble with the thought that they would eventually be far apart from each other. Even if it the was what was best for either of them. “Both of us on a new adventure, huh?” 

“So it seems,” Jughead replied, a smile to match hers plastered on his face. Betty's thumb stroked at his cheek momentarily, before a thought occurred to her. 

“Are you hungry?” She asked. Jughead couldn't help but laugh. 

“Babe, do you know who you're asking?” 

She hit his chest with the back of her palm. Before he could inform her that he hadn't actually gotten around to checking if there was any food, Betty spoke again. 

“Hmm,” she murmured before leaning forward to peck the top of his nose. “Can we order pizza?” 

“Are you even real?” Jughead scoffed. “Sex and then pizza?” 

She giggled, such a light and breezy sound that he could listen to on repeat forever. 

“And we're totally watching a movie.” With that, she snatched the sheet from underneath him, jumped up from the bed and wrapped it around her body. “I'm just going to go to the bathroom and grab my phone,” she informed him as she leaned back over and kissed his lips soundly. 

As he watched her back up towards the door, with her glistening eyes still trained on him, that smile painted across her face, wrapped only in a thin sheet that did nothing to hide the marks on her neck that would match the shape of his mouth, he had a thought. 

 

_I'm so in love with this girl._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me a comment, give me all your thoughts!! Or come chat on [tumblr](allskynostars.tumblr.com) tooooo x


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